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Monday, June 06, 2016

Kiddush Levana on Shabbos and Yom Tov

The custom in many communities is to recite Kiddush Levana (bless the New Moon) on the first possible Saturday night. Halachically it must be three days after the ‘birth’ of the new moon, but before the apex of the moon. (The exact calculations needed to determine the apex will hopefully be addressed in a later article).

This year (5776), as well as last year, Shavuos falls on Sunday and Monday. Being that Rosh Chodesh was Tuesday (and the Molad Sunday Night) it is quite probable that one will have not yet said Kiddush Levana when the first possible Saturday night comes around, however that Saturday Night is Shavuos. May one say Kiddush Levana on Yom Tov?

Similarly, if one was unable to say Kiddush Levana, and the last possible night to do so is Friday Night (as it was last month, Iyar 5776) may they say Kiddush Levana on Friday Night?

The Sugya begins with a letter written by the Rashba (Shut Harashba 4:48). The questioner had quoted Rabbi Moshe of Coucy (one of the Tosafists, and author of the SMaG ) as saying that just as there is a concept of ‘techumin’ or boundaries which may not be traversed on Shabbos, on the ground, so too there are techumin in the air. Therefore one may not say Kiddush Levana on Shabbos, which is akin to traveling through the air to go greet your Rabbi (in this case Hashem), due to the limitations of the techum.

The Rashba responds: whether there are techumin in the air is subject to debate (indeed, there is a dispute among the Rishonim if one may jump from post to post beyond the limits of the techum). However, he fails to see the relevance to Kiddush Levana.

Firstly, he retorts – if one was only able to greet their Rebbe from a great distance, then they would be required to do at least that! Even during the week we don’t travel to the moon or even jump as high as we can to get closer to the moon! More importantly, we aren’t making a beracha on the moon, rather we are blessing its Creator, who is well above the universe, and the Shechina, which is everywhere. The moon reminds us of the Shechina, in its consistency and renewal (he doesn’t explain what exactly he means by that). He concludes by saying that he looked in the SMaG and didn’t see this halacha that was quoted in the name of its author.

Clearly it would seem the Rashba didn’t have a problem with saying Kiddush Levana on Shabbos or Yom Tov.
The Maharil, who was the great codifier of Ashkenazi custom, quotes the Mahari Segal (Minhagim – Shavuos) as not having said Kiddush Levana on Yom Tov that fell on Motzai Shabbos due to the techumin issue quoted above. He adds an additional rationale; Kiddush Levana has the appearance of a ‘techina’, or plea, which is prohibited on Shabbos.

However Mahari Segal himself conceded that his Rebbe, the Maharash, was not concerned with this issue and would say Kiddush Levana on Shabbos and Yom Tov.

Before we take this to the next step, we need to explain – why is Motzai Shabbos the preferred night? The Tur, quoting Meseches Sofrim, tells us that the reason is because then we are already dressed nicely and are happy, having just completed Shabbos. This is codified in Shulchan Aruch.

Based on this, the Radvaz (Shut Ravaz 4:1203) was asked: why don’t we say Kiddush Levana specifically on Friday night when one is also dressed nicely and happy and would seem a more appropriate time to greet the shechinah?

The Radvaz replied that he had seen the explanation given that there is a techum issue above ten tefachim, however he thinks that is weak reasoning. He therefore offers a different reason – Friday night we already greet the King with Kiddush. On Saturday Night when our neshama yeseira (special Shabbos soul) is leaving, we can console ourselves by greeting the Shechinah with Kiddush Levana.

The Ramo Mipano explains the techum issue a little differently; he writes (78) that if one imagines himself in front of the moon so as to bless its Creator, he will appear to have traveled many, many miles.

He adds another reason; there is a halachic principle that one should not combine two distinct joyous occasions, and therefore the joy of Shabbos or Yom Tov should not be mixed with the joy of blessing the moon, on the contrary the honor and holiness due to Shabbos and Yom Tov surpass the honor to Hashem of Kiddush Levana.

In Shulchan Aruch (OC 426:2) this halacha is codified: one should say Kiddush Levana on Motzai Sahbbos. The Rema, quoting the Maharil, adds that one should not say it on Motzai Shabbos that falls on Yom Tov. The Be’er Heitiv explains that one should definitely not say it on Shabbos, and cites the issue with techumin above ten tefachim as the reasoning.

The Magen Avraham quotes the Bach, who recalled that one year in Cracow the moon was not visible until the first night of Sukkos, which was the last possible night to say Kiddush Levana, and they said Kiddush Levana on Yom Tov. However he cautions that unless it’s the last chance one should not say Kiddush Levana, due to the various reasons given (he cites the Radvaz quoted above) as well as various Kabbalistic reasons.

This is also the conclusion of the Mishna Berura, and he quotes this as being the bottom line of the poskim. In the Shaar Hatzion he brings an additional reason – often there is dancing at Kiddush Levana, and it is halachically questionable if one may dance on Shabbos (he differentiates between Simchas Torah and Kiddush Levana).

[The Taz cryptically comments that he understood the Rema as not taking issue with Kiddush Levana on Shabbos and Yom Tov, see Taz and Maamar Mordechai].

In conclusion, although the Rashba, Maharash and Radvaz all seem to feel that the reasoning offered, that one is considered to have traveled outside the techum by saying Kiddush Levana, is weak, the recommended practice is to avoid saying Kiddush Levana on Shabbos and Yom Tov, unless one has no choice.

The Aruch Hashulchan writes that although the halachic arguments given not to say Kiddush Levana on Shabbos and Yom Tov are not satisfactory, there are additional Kabbalistic reasons. Therefore, unless there is no choice one should refrain from saying Kiddush Levana on Shabbos or Yom Tov. If it’s the last possible night, or even if it’s the penultimate night and there is concern that Motzai Shabbos may be cloudy, you should say Kiddush Levana, but only the beracha itself and not the additional prayers before and after.

Sunday, May 01, 2016

Post Pesach Supermarket Scene 2016

There is much ado every year as to where one can shop immediately following Pesach, how long the restrictions apply for and to what products. I hope this is found to be enlightening.

My goal is not to issue a halachic decision with this article, rather to present the fact on the ground. For a final psak please consult your Rav, who may appreciate you bringing some of these facts to his attention.

In order to properly understand the halachic implications we must first elucidate the basic supermarket structure.

In terms of Halacha, Chametz that was owned by a Jew on Pesach is forbidden. ‘Chametz’, for the purpose of this exercise, is a product that contains a kezayis (1.1 fluid ounces) of Chametz and more than 1/60th of the final cooked product is Chametz.

Therefore, if any company in the chain is owned by a Jew, and owned the Chametz on Pesach, it would be forbidden to eat after Pesach.

Publicly held companies that have a partial Jewish ownership are the subject of Rabbinic dispute, but the commonly accepted view is that of the Zecher Yitzchak (8) that although significant minority shareholders are required to sell their Chametz shares before Pesach it does not render the Chametz forbidden after Pesach. (How to define significant is a conversation unto itself and beyond the scope of this article).
Now the facts:

Manufacturers

Manufacturers obviously vary from product to product but almost all products found in the average supermarket are manufactured by publicly held companies.

Distributors

Distributors buy tremendous amounts of food from the Manufacturers and then distribute to the national chains. Most distribution companies are publicly held, however there is one very notable exception:

C&S Wholesale Grocers is a wholesale distributor of food and grocery store items. With headquarters in Keene, New Hampshire, C&S is the tenth largest privately held company in the United States, as listed by Forbes.
Israel Cohen and Abraham Siegel founded C&S Wholesale Grocers with a three-story, 5,000 sq. ft. warehouse that stocked 1,200 products. C&S serves now serves more than 5,000 independent supermarkets, regional and national chains, and military bases, making it the second-largest food wholesaler in the U.S. The company delivers over 95,000 food and non-food items from 50 distribution warehouses, located in 16 states and operates over 18 million square feet of storage space. Its customers include Safeway, Target, A&P, BJ’s Warehouse, Pathmark, Stop & Shop, Royal Ahold (Giant-Carlisle and Giant-Landover), Albertson’s (Shaw’s), Bi-Lo/Bruno’s,and Kroger.

Rick Cohen is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He is the third generation Cohen to lead the company. Company spokespeople have stated that he is the sole owner.

[White Rose Food was a concern for many in years past. It is the largest independent food wholesaler and distributor in the New York City metropolitan area, and was founded by two brothers, Joseph and Sigel Seeman. White Rose was acquired by Associated Wholesaler’s, Inc (AWI) in June 2006. AWI is a retailer’s co-op. This basically means that all the Supermarkets own the distributorship in order to harness their collective buying power. Associated Wholesalers declared bankruptcy in 2014, and sold all its assets to…… C&S which has taken over distributorship to those supermarkets. Therefore it is now subject to the same status of C&S.]

So here we run into some problems. Perhaps the Chametz on your Supermarket shelf was in the distributors’ hands over Pesach!

Thankfully, for many years C&S has sold their Chametz, although they remain open for business as usual on Pesach. In recent years, there has been an improvement to the way that the sale is done; in essence the entire company is sold to a non-Jew for Pesach, so that items that are purchased on Pesach are never owned by a Jew.

The Halachic validity of a sale of Chametz to a non-Jew where the Jew continues to do business with the Chametz for the duration of the sale sounds funny. Indeed Rav Soloveitchik was of the opinion that in those circumstances the sale is a sham and should not be relied upon.

However Rav Moshe Feinstein ruled that the sale is a good sale, and the offending Jew is considered nothing more than a thief, doing business with merchandise that is not his, and therefore only Chametz that was bought or sold on Pesach would be of concern. Chametz purchased on Pesach would be an issue as it wouldn’t be covered by the sale; Chametz that the Jew sells on Pesach would be of concern as he would be acquiring it from the non-Jew and then selling it on. Chametz that wasn’t actually bought or sold on Pesach would remain under the aegis of the sale.

The improved sale, where the entire company is sold to a non-Jew, would seem to alleviate some of these concerns. However, this is still subject to dispute, and many Kashrus organizations require Jewish owned companies that produce chametz to close for Pesach, and do not allow them to sell the company to a non-Jew. I urge you to discuss this with your Rav.

Krasdale Foods is an independent grocery wholesaler that supplies stores in the New York City Metropolitan area, primarily the following chains: C Town, Bravo, AIM, Market Fresh, Stop1, and Shop Smart.

Krasdale is a private company which is owned by the apparently Jewish Krasne family, and to the best of my knowledge does not sell their chametz. The individual retail stores are independently owned, but Chametz that was owned by the wholesaler on Pesach would be problematic.

Supermarket Warehouse
So we’ve gotten through the distributor stage. Now the merchandise moves to the Supermarket warehouse. These are usually owned by the Supermarket itself, with the notable exception of Wakefern/Shoprite and Foodtown.

The Wakefern Food Corp., founded in 1946 and based in Elizabeth, New Jersey (United States), is the largest co-operative group of supermarkets in the United States. The name “Wakefern” is a portmanteau of the founders’ names (W for Louis Weiss, A for Al and Sam Aidekman, K for Abe Kesselman, an E added for pronunciation, and FERN for Dave Fern), though the company adopted the name ShopRite for its stores in 1951.
Wakefern also created and operates or franchises the PriceRite limited-assortment chain of stores throughout Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and California. PriceRite is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wakefern.
The company supplies all of its members’ ShopRite stores as well as the PriceRite chain. In July, 2007, the cooperative announced that for the first time, it was offering its wholesale services to third-party supermarket operators, in Northeast and other areas of the country. Since then, Wakefern has announced deals to supply Gristedes Supermarkets and Morton Williams in the New York City area, as well as the Heinen’s Fine Foods chain of supermarkets in Ohio and The Marketplace in Bermuda.

So Wakefern is owned collectively by all ShopRite and PriceRite stores which are each individually owned. So there is a possibility that there are Jewishly owned Shoprites or PriceRites who in turn own a minority portion of Wakefern.

Important Note – Many Central NJ Shoprites, are owned by the Saker Family, which is not a Jewish family. Additionally, the Shoprite in Tallman, Spring Valley, North Bergen, Fair Lawn, Passaic and others in that vicinity are owned by the Inserra Family, which does not seem to be a Jewish family. The Glass Garden Shoprites in Englewood, Paramus and Boro Park are owned bt the Jewish Mr. Glass, who sells his chametz.

Additionally, any Shoprite with a “Kosher Experience” counter is not Jewish owned.

This information is helpful for food that is owned by the individual supermarket on Pesach, not that was owned by the Wakefern collective as a whole.

The Jewish ownership of Wakefern is a minority position, and therefore included in the penumbra of publicly held companies discussed above. Moreover, there is a sale executed wherein the chometz purchases are executed by the non Jewish owners, and the non chometz purchases are executed by the Jewish owners over Pesach.

Foodtown is a northeastern United States supermarket cooperative founded in 1955 by Twin County Grocers, Inc. Their business is centered in the city and suburbs of New York (24 stores), central New Jersey (34 Stores) and eastern Pennsylvania (7 stores). They also operate under the FoodKing, Foodtown Express and Freshtown Marketplace banners They have recently purchased the Pathmark brand name as well. Foodtown’s corporate offices are located in Avenel, New Jersey; however, each Foodtown is independently owned and operated, either by an individual person or a company that owns several stores, making it a cooperative, much like ShopRite.

In years past Foodtown has sold its chametz, both as a co-op, and of the individual Foodtowns owned by Jews, giving it the same status as Shoprite. I do not have any information as to who will be doing the sale this year, or if indeed there are any Jewish owners. The consumer is advised to look for signs in the individual Foodtowns. If you have a relevant location let me know and I will try to do some more research.

Supermarkets

Now let’s look at individual Supermarket chains.

Stop & Shop was founded in 1914 in Somerville, Massachusetts by the Rabinovitz family as the Economy Grocery Stores Company. The company officially became known as Stop & Shop, Inc. in 1946. Stop & Shop is now the largest food retailer based in New England. It operates close to 400 stores throughout southern New England, as well as in New York and New Jersey. The chain was acquired by the American branch of Dutch food giant Ahold in 1996

A&P declared bankruptcy for the final time on July 19 2015, and has since closed or sold all stores operating under any of its banners. No problems here.

Kroger was founded by Bernard Henry Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kroger pioneered the first supermarket surrounded on all four sides by parking lots in the 1930s. In 1983, The Kroger Company acquired Dillon Companies grocery chain in Kansas along with its subsidiaries, King Soopers, City Market, Fry’s, Baker’s, Gerbes, and the convenience store chain Kwik Shop. David Dillon, in the 4th generation under J.S. Dillon, the founder of Dillon Companies, is now the CEO of Kroger.

Kroger is now a publicly traded company, and doesn’t seem to have any heavy Jewish involvement. What follows is a partial list of brands owned by Kroger:

Trader Joe’s is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. As of December 2010, Trader Joe’s has a total of 353 stores. Its stores are located most densely in Southern California, but the grocery company has locations in 24 other states and Washington, D.C. Trader Joe’s was founded by Joe Coulombe and is currently owned by a family trust set up by German billionaire Theo Albrecht, one of the two brothers behind the German supermarket chain Aldi.
Theodor Paul Albrecht (28 March 1922 – July 22 2010), generally known as Theo Albrecht, is a German entrepreneur, who in 2010 was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 31st richest person in the world, with a net worth of $16.7 billion. He owned and was the CEO of the Aldi Nord discount supermarket chain. In the US he owned the Trader Joe’s specialty grocery store chain.

Theo was very reclusive, but wore a Nazi uniform (in Africa) during World War II, and lived in Germany, is presumed to be non – Jewish. He died in 2010, and his sons have inherited the business. This clears Trader Joe and Aldi as well.

Piggly Wiggly is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The current company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire. It is a franchise, each store independently owned.

So the Piggly Wiggly is owned by C&S and would be subject to their sale as well. The individual stores are individually owned and would be problematic only if they are owned by a Jew.

Walmart is a publicly traded company. Although the Walton family own a significant amount of the company, this would not be an issue seeing as they’re Presbyterian. Sam’s Club is owned by Walmart.

So far, seemingly so good, now for the problematic stores that have come to my attention:

Problematic Stores

Costco is a publicly traded company. However the CEO, Jeffery Brotman, owns a worthwhile (tens of millions of dollars) but very minority (less than 1/2 %) share. This should be discussed with your Rav.

Albertsons / Safeway

Safeway Inc is North America’s third largest supermarket chain, with 1,702 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern Seaboard. The company is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
Safeway is the product of a merger between the Seelig and the Skagg stores in 1926. At this time, after numerous sell-offs and acquisitions, Safeway operates under the following names in addition to the Safeway name:
-  Carrs (Carr-Gottstein Foods), Alaska supermarket chain
-  Casa Ley, food stores in western Mexico, competes primarily with Wal-Mart
-  Dominick’s (Dominick’s Finer Foods), Chicago metropolitan area supermarket chain
-  Genuardi’s (Genuardi’s Family Markets), Delaware Valley supermarket chain
-  Pak ‘n’ Save (warehouse store chain in California)
-  Randall’s Food Markets, southeast and central Texas supermarket chain
-  Tom Thumb Food & Pharmacy, North Texas supermarket chain
-  Vons (The Vons Companies, Inc.), Southern California/Nevada supermarket chain
o Pavilions, upscale division of Vons Albertsons purchased Safeway in early 2015.

Albertson’s (and now Safeway) are owned by Cerberus Capital Management. There is a pending IPO in the works, but as of Pesach 2016 it is still privately held.

Safeway and Albertsons as well as Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, and Star Market are now owned by Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm with significant Jewish involvement. The major Jewish partners have no desire to own Chametz on Pesach, and sell their entire portion in the company for Pesach. There appears to be other Jewish involvement, including in the running of the fund, but with a very minority stake in the company. Of the ‘problematic’ stores this would seem to be the best, as the sale is done wholeheartedly.

Family Dollar - Family Dollar was purchased by Dollar Tree, a publicly traded company. Prior to the sale it had a significant minority Jewish ownership, however at this time it appears to be greatly (if not fully) diminished.

Ben Gurion Airport

Duty Free Stores, although they can be presumed to have a rather high turnover rate, present an issue, particularly for those who visited Israel for Pesach and are traveling home right afterward. In previous years, and I expect this to be true of this year as well, I have done extensive research, and can say with certainty that the store at D7 is closed for the entire Pesach, and all products sold there have been properly and legitimately sold for Pesach according to all opinions.

Previously Problematic Stores

Smart & Final

Hellman-Haas Grocery sold a wide variety of products including: flour, patent medicines, sheepherding supplies and gunpowder which were the top-selling categories when the store opened for business in 1871 in Los Angeles California. The company name was changed to Haas, Baruch & Co. in 1889, after Abraham Haas and Jacob Baruch bought out Herman Hellman. Abraham Haas later expanded into Northern California food distribution.
The Santa Ana Grocery Company, which was founded in 1912, mainly supplied feed and grain to local farmers. In 1914, J.S. “Jim” Smart, a banker from Saginaw, Michigan and H.D. “Hildane” Final bought the company and changed the name to Smart & Final Wholesale Grocers.
In 1953, Smart & Final merged with Haas, Baruch & Co. The company was acquired by Apollo Management in 2007. Apollo Management L.P. is a private equity investment firm, founded in 1990 by former Drexel Burnham Lambert banker, Leon Black. Leon David Black is an American businessman and money manager, with a focus on leveraged buyouts and private equity. He is a son of Eli M. Black (1921–1975), a prominent businessman who controlled the United Brands Company.
Eli M. Black (April 9, 1921 – February 3, 1975) was a Jewish-American businessman who controlled the United Brands Company. Born Elihu Menashe Blachowitz in Poland, he came to America as a child. As a young man he trained as a rabbi serving a congregation in Woodmere, New York but after three-and-a-half years he left the pulpit to enter business and was very successful, eventually creating and owning United Brands.

In 2012 Apollo sold a major stake in Smart and Final to Ares Management, a publicly traded company.

In 2014 the company went public on the NYSE. The original pre-IPO stockholders retained a majority of the shares of the company and their ‘lockdown period’ ended on Pesach 2015, however since the 2012 merger it appears that there has been no significant Jewish ownership.

99 Cent Only Stores

Founded by David Gold in 1982, most of the stores are located in Southern California, with others in Nevada, Arizona and Texas, a total of 281 stores. The company also operates Bargain Wholesale, which sells wholesale from showrooms in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.
Gold, the son of Russian immigrants, and reportedly Jewish, started the business in 1982. Although the company is publicly traded, the Gold family retains a two third ownership in the company. Although in 2010 they did not sell their chametz, in 2011 they did, although they continued to operate as usual.

In 2013 the company was bought by Ares Management, a publicly traded company. The Gold family is no longer involved.

American Bourbons

In recent years it has come to light that many American Bourbon companies are owned by Jews and present a problem in that their Chametz has not been sold for Pesach. An updated list and more information is available at crcweb.org.

A Reasonable Doubt

As we noted, the prohibition is Rabbinic in nature. This means, practically speaking that when there is a reasonable doubt as to whether the item in question was owned by a Jew, and it is difficult to clarify, we can be lenient.

When it comes to fresh bread, after about three days bread can be bought anywhere.

For general chametz items, although stores claim a two week turnaround time, and this is probably true on average, this is almost impossible to determine on a product by product basis. Some products sit on the shelf for more than a year, some for only a day or two, as has been ascertained by informal studies.

Additionally, it would be pretty much impossible to determine where each product was on Pesach. Was it in the Supermarket, the warehouse, still at the distributor or perhaps still at the manufacturer? This information is impossible to know, as has been admitted by people who are excellent at determining product age and origin.

It would then seem that really any Chametz would be permissible to buy anywhere it’s not determinable where it was on Pesach. For the immediate first few days or weeks after Pesach it may be wise to refrain from buying Chametz in a Jewish owned store that didn’t sell their Chametz, or from one that is supplied by a Jewish distributor, but afterwards it would seem to be an exercise in futility to try and determine whether or not this particular item was owned by a Jew on Pesach.

With regards to stores and distributors that did sell their chametz, as discussed there are several different possible sales, and several opinions in the Poskim.

Both of these scenarios should be presented to a Rav for clear guidance.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Halachic Lessons From Kriyas Yam Suf

(לא ימיש עמוד הענן יומם ועמוד האש לילה (שמות יג:כב – There was a cloud that led Bnai Yisrael during the day, and a pillar of fire by night. The Gemara (Shabbos 23b) deduces from this posuk that the pillar of fire arrived before the cloud left, and the cloud arrived in the morning before the pillar of fire came. The Gemara goes on to relate that RavYosef’s wife once lit Shabbos candles very close to nightfall. Rav Yosef quoted our posuk to her, seemingly indicating that the Shabbos candles should be lit while it is still day.

This is in fact better understood if we look at the end of the Braisa, that is not quoted in the Gemara. The Braisa says בא הכתוב ללמדך דרך ארץ אל ערבי שבתות that the fire should be lit while the cloud (meaning the day) is still there. So the drasha explicitly applied the lesson to Shabbos candles.

The Gemara completes the story of Rav Yosef’s wife; the next week she lit candles very early. An elderly scholar told her that it was taught that one cannot be early or late. The Torah Temima asks – saying not to be early makes sense, but obviously late doesn’t work - it’s Shabbos already! He explains that he was referring to Tosfos Shabbos in general. Although it is proper, and perhaps obligatory to add on to Shabbos, one shouldn’t add too much because then it is no longer apparent that you are adding to increase Kedushas Shabbos, it may be for convenience or some other reason. Hence, when we say that It shouldn’t be too early or too late, we are not talking about Shbbos candles per se, rather the entire concept of Tosfos Shabbos, not too early on Friday and not too late on Saturday Night.

(כי אשר ראיתם את מצרים היום לא תוסיפו לראותם עד עולם (שמות יד:יג – Hashem said, “As you have seen the Egyptians today you will never see them again forever. This seems to be a reassuring promise. However, Rav Shimon bar Yochai (JT sukkah 5:1) says that this is one of the three places the Torah warns against returning to Egypt. This is clear in Parshas Shoftim where it says “Hashem has warned you not to return to mitzrayim” However we don’t find such a warning anywhere but here. (Torah Temimah)

We know that they did in fact see the Egyptians again, shortly thereafter, when they were expelled onto the beach. The Zohar understands from here that not ‘seeing’ someone is only when they are still alive, not when they are dead.

The halachic implication of this is that if one makes a vow that they will never see a specific person again; nonetheless they may see them after they are dead when halachically necessary. [Generally speaking, Halacha frowns upon viewing cadavers].

(מה תצעק אלי (שמות יד:טו – The Gemara (Sotah 37a) tells us that as the Egyptians were closing in on the Jews Moshe Rabbeinu engaged in lengthy prayer. Hashem said to him – my beloved are (about to be) drowning in the sea and you are davening? Moshe responded, so what should I do? And Hashem answered – tell the Jews to go forward!

Prayer vs Action is a longstanding philosophical debate. It would seem from here, that when one is at a loss for a practicable solution, as Moshe was prior to Hashem’s instruction, lengthy prayer is the correct response. However, when there is an obviously practical thing to do then a short prayer and action is indeed the correct approach.

(ויבאו בני ישראל בתוך הים ביבשה (שמות יד:כב - The Gemara (Berachos 54a) learns from here that one who sees the place where we crossed the sea has to praise Hashem. Indeed, the halacha is that one makes a beracha of ‘sheasa neis leyisrael bemakom hazeh’ However in the Sheiltos (Parshas Vayishlach) it learns this halacha from a later posuk that was said after kriyas yam suf. From here the Netziv deduces that the beracha should be made at the place where the miracle finished specifically. The Torah Temimah questions this; it is not mentioned anywhere in the Gemara and Poskim as it should have been, and he brings various sources that the whole path of the miracle is eligible for blessing.

(זה קלי ואנוהו (שמות טו:ב – The Jews proclaimed that “This is my Lord and I will beautify Him”. From here Chazal learn several different lessons. It is impossible to beautify Hashem, but we do so by making our mitzvos beautiful. A beautiful sukkah, lulav, tzitzis, and sefer Torah are the examples that the Gemara (Shabbos 133b) gives. The Halacha is that one should spend up to 1/3 more for a more beautiful mitzvah. If something is required then it doesn’t fall under the penumbra of beautifying, and therefore it is important to ascertain what is required and what is for additional beautification purposes.

Another interpretation given by the Gemara (ibid) is to emulate Hashem; imitatio Dei. Rashi explains that we see this in the word ואנוהו it can be read as אני והוא I am like Him. Just as He is compassionate, so should we be. Just as He clothes the poor and feeds the hungry, so should we, and so on.

The Torah Temimah suggests that this too is a way of beautifying Hashem. By practicing and engaging in acts of compassion and loving kindness, traits that Hashem has shared with us, it brings glory to Him. He further suggests that this interpretation compliments the previous one. If one only beautifies their mitzvos, but acts toward one’s fellow in a decidedly ungodly manner, that will be a chillul Hashem, quite the opposite of what is intended. When we beautify mitzvos, in the relationship between man and God, and thus beautify Hashem. And we act in a Godly manner in our relationship between man and man, and thus beautify Hashem there as well.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Participating in the Political Process – A Torah View

As the United States political season reaches its apex, and races for office heat up on the national, state and local levels, politics is on many of our minds. What is the Torah view on voting specifically, and generally being an active participant in the political process? We will begin with a historical view, and conclude contemporarily.

When Bnai Yisrael were exiled from Eretz Yisrael to Bavel, Yirmiyahu Hanavi cautioned them that they were to be there for quite some time, in contrast to the Nevei Sheker who were promising that the galus would be for only two years.

“Take wives and have sons and daughter, take wives for your sons and give your daughters to men, and they shall have sons and daughters; you shall become greater there, and not smaller: Seek the peace of the city to which you have been exiled, and pray on its behalf to Hashem, for through its peace you shall have peace”.

This injunction, to pray for the peace of the local government, was given with an explanation – through “it’s peace you will have peace”. When the governing body of the place where we reside is at peace, even if that governing body is as evil as Nevuchdnetzer and the Babylonians, it will cause Bnai Yisrael to have peace as well.

The Metzudas David explains this practically, by referencing Chazal’s command[2] to be מתפלל בשלומה של מלכות, to daven for the wellbeing of the government, for if not for fear of authority man would eat his fellow alive.

This statement, made by Rav Channina Segan Hakohanim was said at the end of the second Bais Hamikdash, in reference to the ruling Roman authorities. Even that evil empire was worthy of our appreciation and tefillos, because they served an important social function.

We know[3] that Rebbi Yehuda Hanasi enjoyed a very close relationship with the Roman Emperor Antoninus.

We even find[4] that Rav Elazar Barav Shimon, who spent 12 years in a cave with his father Rav Shimon bar Yochai hiding from the Romans, became a ‘policeman’ of sorts for the Romans, catching and turning in thieves. When reproached by Rav Yehoshua ben Korcha he replied ‘I am weeding out the thorns from the vineyard’, meaning that with his assistance he felt the Romans were doing an important service[5].

In Shimon Hatzadik’s seminal meeting with Alexander the Great[6] he told him that ‘in the Bais Hamikdash we pray that you and your kingdom should not be destroyed’.

The Meiri, on the above cited Mishna, comments that it is integral to be concerned with the welfare of the malchus, for even if we have Torah leadership, but there is no fear of malchus then each individual will be concerned with self-preservation and protection with no ability to focus on their spiritual growth. He concludes by stating that this applies to all kings, as the Torah hints to by requiring the seventy Parei Hachag on Succos which correspond to the seventy nations of the world, and we find in Ezra[7] that the passuk states that we should bring sacrifices to Hashem, and daven for the king and his sons.[8]

So we see that there is a firm basis to pray for, and be concerned for, the welfare of the ruling kingdom, even when the ruling kingdom is as evil as the Romans, Babylonians and Greeks.

From what we’ve seen so far it would appear that the reasons to be supportive, and pray for, the ruling authority are practical; the government is effective in policing the state and ensuring there is not rampant lawlessness, and in recognition of the necessity of such a governing body, evil as they may be, we support them and pray for their wellbeing.[9]

How does this translate into the modern political process? Contemporarily we find this expressed by Rav Shlomo Miller of Toronto, who writes in commentary to the verse we cited from Yirmiyahu previously that one should seek the peace of the city we are exiled to: A successful and truthful democracy is essential for peace, and therefore exercising our right to vote is advisable and recommended.[10]

If we delve a little deeper we will see that there is an undercurrent of more than practicality – we must be grateful to our host countries throughout our exile, not just for keeping law and order, but for providing us with a place to live, uncomfortable as it may be.

The Torah commands us[11] to not reject the Egyptian, as we were strangers in his land. Rashi explains that even though they drowned all of our male offspring, at the end of the day, they gave us somewhere to live in a time of hardship. This is mind boggling! After all the hardship and slavery that the Egyptians put us through, to the extent that they drowned our children, thousands of years later we still owe them a debt of gratitude for hosting us in exile.

This concept is particularly applicable in a country such as the United States, which has been particularly conducive to the flourishing of Torah living and Jewish Life. The religious liberties afforded to us in the United States and other Western countries are unprecedented, and we should be deeply appreciative of that.

Indeed this is a recurring theme in the responsa of Rav Moshe Feinstein, who moved to the United States from the oppressive Bolshevik Russian regime. He refers to the United States as a ‘Malchus Shel Chesed’ a kingdom of kindness, and encouraged respect and appreciation for all levels of government.

On March 4th 1939 the United States celebrated the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Congress. This was marked by a special Saturday Congressional legislative session, which was addressed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and happened to coincide with Parshas Zachor that year.

Rav Moshe gave a derasha[12] commemorating the event, in which he explained that governments which are based on an ideology tend to use the ideology as a means of attaining power, at which point they concentrate on amassing power, and allow the ideology to fall by the wayside. He illustrated this by showing that Germany at one extreme (fascism) and Russia at the other extreme (Communism) had both used their ideologies as a means to exert power over their citizens.[13]

He continued by stating that the ideal secular government should not be based on any particular idea or creed, rather their function should be to maintain law and order, and ensure that people do not steal and murder. However all citizens should be free to adopt whichever faith, ideology and philosophy that they would like. As such he extolled the United States, who ‘already one hundred and fifty years ago adopted a system with no faith and no philosophy’ whose primary function is to maintain order and ‘this is the will of Hashem, and that is why they have been so successful’. He concluded by saying one is therefore obligated to pray for their welfare.

It would appear that Rav Moshe felt that this gratitude to the United States also required one to actively participate in the electoral system. In 1984, at the behest of the Jewish Community Relations Council, which was running a ‘get out the vote’ campaign, he signed a letter that stated: “The rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights have allowed us the freedom to practice our religion in safety… A fundamental principle of Judaism is hakaras hatov… Therefore it is incumbent upon each Jewish citizen to participate in the democratic system which guards the freedoms we enjoy” he goes on to encourage each Jew to register and to vote.[14]

It would appear that Rav Moshe was of the opinion that the gratitude creates an obligation to actually participate and uphold the democratic system.

This concept was reiterated by Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky in a ‘Kol Koreh’ issued prior to the 2006 elections in which he reiterated that: previous sages have ruled that it befits each and every Jew to acknowledge his or her appreciation for the freedoms afforded to citizens of the United States by participating in the elections of “our nation of kindness, the United States.” Further, Rabbi Kaminetsky dismissed those who doubt the impact of their individual vote, noting that recent elections have been decided by just a few hundred votes. “Therefore I urge all members of our community to fulfill their obligation to vote for those who strengthen our nation — whether materially or spiritually — and also support our Jewish brethren living in the Land of Israel,” he wrote in the proclamation.[15]

This hints to the third and final reason that we find an obligation to vote; the ability to influence the election to the benefit of the Jewish community. We find that in many of the letters written by the Torah Leaders to the Jews of Eretz Yisrael, encouraging them to vote for the Torah true politicians running for office, they reiterate this point: if one has the opportunity to play a role in improving the wellbeing of the Jewish people, and to have laws enacted that will protect Torah Judaism, they have an obligation to do so, and may not shirk their duty.[16] Presumably, as in Rav Kaminetsky’s letter, this would similarly apply to Jews in the United States as well. This is dictated by simple logic in addition to practicality; one should support those who will act in his benefit and vote against those who will not.

One last concern – does the voter bear any responsibility for the actions of his candidate? Rav Menashe Klein[17] reassures us that he does not, and one should choose the candidate that is the most favorable from those running. He recalls that in prewar Hungary everyone would vote, including all the great Tzadikim. He reiterates that especially in a ‘Malchus Shel Chesed’ such as the United States everyone should vote, and one should vote for the best candidate, even is a situation where it is merely the lesser of two evils.

[1] 29:6-7
[2] Avos 3:2
[3] Sanhedrin 91b, see sugya there for many other examples of interactions between the ruling authorities and Chazal
[4] Bava Metzia 83b
[5] It is noteworthy that his grandfather, Yochai, was also close to the Roman authorities, see Pesachim 112a.
[6] Yoma 69a
[7] 6:10
[8] One could argue that the passuk was spoken by Daryavesh, not Ezra, but the Meiri felt it was a worthy reference to support the concept of praying for the Malchus.
[9] It is clear that this is not only support of a monarchy, but even a democratic or parliamentary system. See Lev Avos (quoted by Midrash Shmuel on Avos 3:2) who applies to the Venetian government of his day , which appears to have been some sort of parliamentary system.
[10] http://baisdovyosef.com/faq/561-a-mitzvah-to-vote/
[11] Devarim 23:8
[12] Darash Moshe, Drush 10
[13] He contrasted this with a Torah ideology in which the monarchy is totally and fully based on Torah, and is pure and wholesome. It is noteworthy that this was said in March of 1939, several months prior to the German invasion of Poland.
[14] http://cross-currents.com/wp-images/rebmoshevote.jpg
[15] Source for translation as well as the original proclamation can be found here http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/uncategorized/3401/r-shmuel-kaminetsky-meets-senator-rick-santorum-r-pa.html#sthash.v15v8YPi.dpuf
[16] For a small sampling see Mishnas Rebbe Aharon, end of v. 4, Igros Kodesh, vol. 4, p. 249, 345
[17] Mishneh Halachos v. 12:274

Friday, April 10, 2015

Post Pesach Supermarket Shopping - 2015 / 5775

There is much ado every year as to where one can shop immediately following Pesach, how long the restrictions apply for and to what products. I hope this is found to be enlightening.

My goal is not to issue a halachic decision with this article, rather to present the fact on the ground. For a final psak please consult your Rav, who may appreciate you bringing some of these facts to his attention.

In order to properly understand the halachic implications we must first elucidate the basic supermarket structure.

In terms of Halacha, Chametz that was owned by a Jew on Pesach is forbidden. ‘Chametz’, for the purpose of this exercise, is a product that contains a kezayis (1.1 fluid ounces) of Chametz and more than 1/60th of the final cooked product is Chametz.

Therefore, if any company in the chain is owned by a Jew, and owned the Chametz on Pesach, it would be forbidden to eat after Pesach.

Publicly held companies that have a partial Jewish ownership are the subject of Rabbinic dispute, but the commonly accepted view is that of the Zecher Yitzchak (8) that although significant minority shareholders are required to sell their Chametz shares before Pesach it does not render the Chametz forbidden after Pesach. (How to define significant is a conversation unto itself and beyond the scope of this article).

Now the facts:

Manufacturers

Manufacturers obviously vary from product to product but almost all products found in the average supermarket are manufactured by publicly held companies.

Distributors

Distributors buy tremendous amounts of food from the Manufacturers and then distribute to the national chains. Most distribution companies are publicly held, however there is one very notable exception:

C&S Wholesale Grocers is a wholesale distributor of food and grocery store items. With headquarters in Keene, New Hampshire, C&S is the tenth largest privately held company in the United States, as listed by Forbes.
Israel Cohen and Abraham Siegel founded C&S Wholesale Grocers with a three-story, 5,000 sq. ft. warehouse that stocked 1,200 products. C&S serves now serves more than 5,000 independent supermarkets, regional and national chains, and military bases, making it the second-largest food wholesaler in the U.S. The company delivers over 95,000 food and non-food items from 50 distribution warehouses, located in 16 states and operates over 18 million square feet of storage space. Its customers include Safeway, Target, A&P, BJ’s Warehouse, Pathmark, Stop & Shop, Royal Ahold (Giant-Carlisle and Giant-Landover), Albertson’s (Shaw’s), Bi-Lo/Bruno’s,and Kroger.
Rick Cohen is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He is the third generation Cohen to lead the company. Company spokespeople have stated that he is the sole owner.

[White Rose Food was a concern for many in years past. It is the largest independent food wholesaler and distributor in the New York City metropolitan area, and was founded by two brothers, Joseph and Sigel Seeman. White Rose was acquired by Associated Wholesaler’s, Inc (AWI) in June 2006. AWI is a retailer’s co-op. This basically means that all the Supermarkets own the distributorship in order to harness their collective buying power. Associated Wholesalers declared bankruptcy in 2014, and sold all its assets to…… C&S which has taken over distributorship to those supermarkets. Therefore it is now subject to the same status of C&S.]

So here we run into some problems. Perhaps the Chametz on your Supermarket shelf was in the distributors’ hands over Pesach!

Thankfully, for many years C&S has sold their Chametz, although they remain open for business as usual on Pesach. In recent years, there has been an improvement to the way that the sale is done; in essence the entire company is sold to a non-Jew for Pesach, so that items that are purchased on Pesach are never owned by a Jew.

The Halachic validity of a sale of Chametz to a non-Jew where the Jew continues to do business with the Chametz for the duration of the sale sounds funny. Indeed Rav Soloveitchik was of the opinion that in those circumstances the sale is a sham and should not be relied upon.

However Rav Moshe Feinstein ruled that the sale is a good sale, and the offending Jew is considered nothing more than a thief, doing business with merchandise that is not his, and therefore only Chametz that was bought or sold on Pesach would be of concern. Chametz purchased on Pesach would be an issue as it wouldn’t be covered by the sale; Chametz that the Jew sells on Pesach would be of concern as he would be acquiring it from the non-Jew and then selling it on. Chametz that wasn’t actually bought or sold on Pesach would remain under the aegis of the sale.

The improved sale, where the entire company is sold to a non-Jew, would seem to alleviate some of these concerns. However, this is still subject to dispute, and many Kashrus organizations require Jewish owned companies that produce chametz to close for Pesach, and do not allow them to sell the company to a non-Jew. I urge you to discuss this with your Rav.

Krasdale Foods is an independent grocery wholesaler that supplies stores in the New York City Metropolitan area, primarily the following chains: C Town, Bravo, AIM, Market Fresh, Stop1, and Shop Smart.

Krasdale is a private company which is owned by the apparently Jewish Krasne family, and to the best of my knowledge does not sell their chametz. The individual retail stores are independently owned, but Chametz that was owned by the wholesaler on Pesach would be problematic.

Supermarket Warehouse

So we’ve gotten through the distributor stage. Now the merchandise moves to the Supermarket warehouse. These are usually owned by the Supermarket itself, with the notable exception of Wakefern/Shoprite and Foodtown.

The Wakefern Food Corp., founded in 1946 and based in Elizabeth, New Jersey (United States), is the largest co-operative group of supermarkets in the United States. The name “Wakefern” is a portmanteau of the founders’ names (W for Louis Weiss, A for Al and Sam Aidekman, K for Abe Kesselman, an E added for pronunciation, and FERN for Dave Fern), though the company adopted the name ShopRite for its stores in 1951.
Wakefern also created and operates or franchises the PriceRite limited-assortment chain of stores throughout Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and California. PriceRite is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wakefern.
The company supplies all of its members’ ShopRite stores as well as the PriceRite chain. In July, 2007, the cooperative announced that for the first time, it was offering its wholesale services to third-party supermarket operators, in Northeast and other areas of the country. Since then, Wakefern has announced deals to supply Gristedes Supermarkets and Morton Williams in the New York City area, as well as the Heinen’s Fine Foods chain of supermarkets in Ohio and The Marketplace in Bermuda.

So Wakefern is owned collectively by all ShopRite and PriceRite stores which are each individually owned. So there is a possibility that there are Jewishly owned Shoprites or PriceRites who in turn own a significant part of Wakefern.

Important Note – The Shoprite in Lakewood, NJ as well as 28 other Central NJ Shoprites, is owned by the Saker Family, which is not a Jewish family. Additionally, the Shoprite in Tallman, Spring Valley, North Bergen, Fair Lawn, Passaic and others in that vicinity are owned by the Inserra Family, which does not seem to be a Jewish family. I’ve also been informed that any Shoprite with a “Kosher Experience” counter is not Jewish owned.

[This information is helpful for food that is owned by the individual supermarket on Pesach, not that was owned by the Wakefern collective as a whole].

Thankfully Rav Teitz, the distinguished Rav of Elizabeth, NJ sells Wakeferns’ Chametz collectively, as well as the chametz of the individual Shoprites that are owned by Jews.

Foodtown is a northeastern United States supermarket cooperative founded in 1955 by Twin County Grocers, Inc. Their business is centered in the city and suburbs of New York (24 stores), central New Jersey (34 Stores) and eastern Pennsylvania (7 stores). They also operate under the FoodKing, Foodtown Express and Freshtown Marketplace banners.
Foodtown’s corporate offices are located in Avenel, New Jersey; however, each Foodtown is independently owned and operated, either by an individual person or a company that owns several stores, making it a cooperative, much like ShopRite.

In years past Foodtown has sold its chametz, both as a co-op, and of the individual Foodtowns owned by Jews, giving it the same status as Shoprite. I do not have any information as to who will be doing the sale this year, or if indeed there are any Jewish owners. The consumer is advised to look for signs in the individual Foodtowns. If you have a relevant location let me know and I will try to do some more research.

Supermarkets

Now let’s look at individual Supermarket chains.

Stop & Shop was founded in 1914 in Somerville, Massachusetts by the Rabinovitz family as the Economy Grocery Stores Company. The company officially became known as Stop & Shop, Inc. in 1946.
Stop & Shop is now the largest food retailer based in New England. It operates close to 400 stores throughout southern New England, as well as in New York and New Jersey.
The chain was acquired by the American branch of Dutch food giant Ahold in 1996

So Stop & Shop is owned by a (presumably non- Jewish) Dutch company.

The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, is a 300+ store supermarket chain with locations in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia under several banners. It’s corporate and U.S. headquarters are located in Montvale, New Jersey.

Current Banners:
• A&P Food Market (includes A&P Fresh format & “Super A&P” format)
• A&P Super Foodmart (New England division)
• Food Basics USA
• The Food Emporium
• Pathmark ("Super-Center" and “Sav-A-Center” formats)
• Super Fresh
• Waldbaum’s
The Tengelmann Group of Germany owns 38.5% of the company also a family run business, founded by the forefathers of Christian Haub, Chairman, President and CEO of A&P. Aletheia R&M and Yucaipa (Ron Burkles’ private equity company) are the other major shareholders.
In 2011-2012 A&P went through Chapter 11 reorganization, has closed a bunch of stores, and emerged as a private company, apparently with the same major shareholders.

So A&P, Pathmark, Waldbaum’s, Food Basics USA, The Food Emporium, and Super Fresh are all owned by Christian Haub’s German investment group Tengelmann and other non-Jewish major shareholders. I don’t think there is any problem there either.

Kroger was founded by Bernard Henry Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kroger pioneered the first supermarket surrounded on all four sides by parking lots in the 1930s. In 1983, The Kroger Company acquired Dillon Companies grocery chain in Kansas along with its subsidiaries, King Soopers, City Market, Fry’s, Baker’s, Gerbes, and the convenience store chain Kwik Shop. David Dillon, in the 4th generation under J.S. Dillon, the founder of Dillon Companies, is now the CEO of Kroger.

Kroger is now a publicly traded company, and doesn’t seem to have any heavy Jewish involvement. What follows is a partial list of brands owned by Kroger:

Trader Joe’s is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. As of December 2010, Trader Joe’s has a total of 353 stores. Its stores are located most densely in Southern California, but the grocery company has locations in 24 other states and Washington, D.C. Trader Joe’s was founded by Joe Coulombe and is currently owned by a family trust set up by German billionaire Theo Albrecht, one of the two brothers behind the German supermarket chain Aldi.
Theodor Paul Albrecht (28 March 1922 – July 22 2010), generally known as Theo Albrecht, is a German entrepreneur, who in 2010 was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 31st richest person in the world, with a net worth of $16.7 billion. He owned and was the CEO of the Aldi Nord discount supermarket chain. In the US he owned the Trader Joe’s specialty grocery store chain.

Theo was very reclusive, but wore a Nazi uniform (in Africa) during World War II, and lived in Germany, is presumed to be non – Jewish. He died in 2010, and his sons have inherited the business. This clears Trader Joe and Aldi as well.

Piggly Wiggly is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The current company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire. It is a franchise, each store independently owned.

So the Piggly Wiggly is owned by C&S and would be subject to their sale as well. The individual stores are individually owned and would be problematic only if they are owned by a Jew.

Walmart is a publicly traded company. Although the Walton family own a significant amount of the company, this would not be an issue seeing as they’re Presbyterian. Sam’s Club is owned by Walmart.

So far, seemingly so good, now for the problematic stores that have come to my attention:

Problematic Stores

Costco is a publicly traded company. However the CEO, Jeffery Brotman, owns a worthwhile (millions of dollars) but very minority (less than 1%) share. This should be discussed with your Rav

Safeway

Safeway Inc is North America’s third largest supermarket chain, with 1,702 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern Seaboard. The company is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
Safeway is the product of a merger between the Seelig and the Skagg stores in 1926. At this time, after numerous sell-offs and acquisitions, Safeway operates under the following names in addition to the Safeway name:
• Carrs (Carr-Gottstein Foods), Alaska supermarket chain
• Casa Ley, food stores in western Mexico, competes primarily with Wal-Mart
• Dominick’s (Dominick’s Finer Foods), Chicago metropolitan area supermarket chain
• Genuardi’s (Genuardi’s Family Markets), Delaware Valley supermarket chain
• Pak ‘n’ Save (warehouse store chain in California)
• Randall’s Food Markets, southeast and central Texas supermarket chain
• Tom Thumb Food & Pharmacy, North Texas supermarket chain
• Vons (The Vons Companies, Inc.), Southern California/Nevada supermarket chain
o Pavilions, upscale division of Vons

Safeway and Albertsons as well as Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, and Star Market are now owned by Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm with significant Jewish involvement. The major Jewish partners have no desire to own Chametz on Pesach, and sell their entire portion in the company for Pesach. There appears to be other Jewish involvement, including in the running of the fund, but with a very minority stake in the company. Of the ‘problematic’ stores this would seem to be the best, as the sale is done wholeheartedly.

Family Dollar operates 6,800 stores and was founded by Leon Levine in 1959. The family holds a 7.5% share of the company, a minority, but decisive, share. Family Dollar was purchased by Dollar Tree, however as of Pesach 2015 the deal is still under review by the FTC.

Ben Gurion Airport

Duty Free Stores, although they can be presumed to have a rather high turnover rate, present an issue, particularly for those who visited Israel for Pesach and are traveling home right afterward. In previous years, and I expect this to be true of this year as well, I have done extensive research, and can say with certainty that the store at D7 is closed for the entire Pesach, and all products sold there have been properly and legitimately sold for Pesach according to all opinions.

Previously Problematic Stores

Smart & Final

Hellman-Haas Grocery sold a wide variety of products including: flour, patent medicines, sheepherding supplies and gunpowder which were the top-selling categories when the store opened for business in 1871 in Los Angeles California. The company name was changed to Haas, Baruch & Co. in 1889, after Abraham Haas and Jacob Baruch bought out Herman Hellman. Abraham Haas later expanded into Northern California food distribution.
The Santa Ana Grocery Company, which was founded in 1912, mainly supplied feed and grain to local farmers. In 1914, J.S. “Jim” Smart, a banker from Saginaw, Michigan and H.D. “Hildane” Final bought the company and changed the name to Smart & Final Wholesale Grocers.
In 1953, Smart & Final merged with Haas, Baruch & Co. The company was acquired by Apollo Management in 2007. Apollo Management L.P. is a private equity investment firm, founded in 1990 by former Drexel Burnham Lambert banker, Leon Black. Leon David Black is an American businessman and money manager, with a focus on leveraged buyouts and private equity. He is a son of Eli M. Black (1921–1975), a prominent businessman who controlled the United Brands Company.
Eli M. Black (April 9, 1921 – February 3, 1975) was a Jewish-American businessman who controlled the United Brands Company. Born Elihu Menashe Blachowitz in Poland, he came to America as a child. As a young man he trained as a rabbi serving a congregation in Woodmere, New York but after three-and-a-half years he left the pulpit to enter business and was very successful, eventually creating and owning United Brands.

In 2012 Apollo sold a major stake in Smart and Final to Ares Management, a publicly traded company.

In 2014 the company went public on the NYSE. The original pre-IPO stockholders retained a majority of the shares of the company and their ‘lockdown period’ ended on Pesach 2015, however since the 2012 merger it appears that there has been no significant Jewish ownership.

99 Cent Only Stores

Founded by David Gold in 1982, most of the stores are located in Southern California, with others in Nevada, Arizona and Texas, a total of 281 stores. The company also operates Bargain Wholesale, which sells wholesale from showrooms in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.
Gold, the son of Russian immigrants, and reportedly Jewish, started the business in 1982. Although the company is publicly traded, the Gold family retains a two third ownership in the company. Although in 2010 they did not sell their chametz, in 2011 they did, although they continued to operate as usual.
In 2013 the company was bought by Ares Management, a publicly traded company. The Gold family is no longer involved.

American Bourbons

In recent years it has come to light that many American Bourbon companies are owned by Jews and present a problem in that their Chametz has not been sold for Pesach. An updated list and more information is available at crcweb.org.

A Reasonable Doubt

As we noted, the prohibition is Rabbinic in nature. This means, practically speaking that when there is a reasonable doubt as to whether the item in question was owned by a Jew, and it is difficult to clarify, we can be lenient.

When it comes to fresh bread, after about three days bread can be bought anywhere.

For general chametz items, although stores claim a two week turnaround time, and this is probably true on average, this is almost impossible to determine on a product by product basis. Some products sit on the shelf for more than a year, some for only a day or two, as has been ascertained by informal studies.

Additionally, it would be pretty much impossible to determine where each product was on Pesach. Was it in the Supermarket, the warehouse, still at the distributor or perhaps still at the manufacturer? This information is impossible to know, as has been admitted by people who are excellent at determining
product age and origin.

It would then seem that really any Chametz would be permissible to buy anywhere it’s not determinable where it was on Pesach. For the immediate first few days or weeks after Pesach it may be wise to refrain from buying Chametz in a Jewish owned store that didn’t sell their Chametz, or from one that is supplied by a Jewish distributor, but afterwards it would seem to be an exercise in futility to try and determine whether or not this particular item was owned by a Jew on Pesach.

With regards to stores and distributors that did sell their chametz, as discussed there are several different possible sales, and several opinions in the Poskim.

Both of these scenarios should be presented to a Rav for clear guidance.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Vaccines in Halacha

UPDATED FEB. 2015: The News is full of Measles outbreaks. In 2013, according to the World Health Organization there were 400 deaths every single day due to measles. This is due to vaccines.

Yes, vaccines are to blame for the low measles fatality rates. In the year 2000, before a global acceleration of the measles vaccine, there were approximately 1500 deaths a day from Measles. And in 1980, before vaccination was widespread, there were more than 7000 deaths a day caused by measles. That is deaths. Per day. Most of these deaths are children under the age of 5.

Due to the latest outbreak, and the increased vaccine discussion, I was asked to recirculate the article written on the occasion of the polio outbreak in Israel in 2013.

08/2013 There have been some recent reports in Southern Israel of the polio virus being discovered. As a result the Ministry of Health is encouraging all children born after January 1 2004 to receive a special inoculation, which is available for free. This has led to some discussion of vaccinations in general, and I would like to present the halachic perspective. At the end of the article we will discuss the polio vaccine specifically.

First, a word about polio, a disease which we are not familiar with, Boruch Hashem. Polio causes acute paralysis that can lead to permanent physical disability and even death. Before polio vaccine was available, 13,000 to 20,000 cases of paralytic polio were reported each year in the United States. Annual epidemics of polio often left victims—mostly children—in braces, crutches, wheelchairs, and, in serious cases, iron lungs. Many of the children that survived experienced life-long consequences from the disease.

It is important to note that almost all vaccines are not effective in 100% of the population, and therefore rely on a herd, meaning if everyone is inoculated there will not be enough carriers to infect those whom the vaccine did not work for.

Another vaccine that has been scrutinized lately is the MMR vaccine. MMR inoculates against measles, mumps and rubella, three potentially fatal disease. Some history is in order:
MMR was first linked to autism in The Lancet, 1998 by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and twelve coauthors. It was widely circulated and featured on 60 Minutes. However the science behind the study was suspect, and over the years 10 of the 12 coauthors withdrew their names. In February 2010 The Lancet retracted the article, and in March 2010 Dr. Wakefield lost his medical license due to having acted irresponsibly.

Additionally the main factor studied was Thimerosal, a mercury based ingredient that was used in vaccines. As of 2001 the Thimerosal was removed from almost all vaccines.

However, there is still much lingering confusion in the general populace, and much misinformation being spread purporting that the vaccine should not be given. This thinking has taken grip in many Orthodox communities, and unfortunately, over the years there have been outbreaks in Jewish enclaves of mumps and measles. These are diseases that can be fatal, and/or have lifelong effects on the health of the diseased.

Avoiding Pre-Existing Danger

There is a very clear commandment in the Torah to take preventative action to avoid danger – the obligation to build a Maakeh, agate around a rooftop, or anywhere from which one can fall. We find that this concept extends on a Torah level to be “exceedingly careful” to avoid all dangerous situations, food, and activities – (see CM 427).

We find many activities and foods that were prohibited by Chazal due to the possibility of danger, and the well-known adage that Chamira Sakanta Meisura, we are stricter with risk than prohibitions, underscores this.

There is some discussion in the poskim as to the risk factor needed to be considered a dangerous activity. According to all opinions if it is 50% or higher it is forbidden, and according to many a significant risk such as a 10% risk is prohibited as well.

However, we find that even when there is only a small chance of danger the action or food is prohibited, see IGM OC 2:100.

Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski wrote that although there is a rule of Shomer Pesaim Hashem, Hashem protects the foolish, which the Gemara uses as a rationale to explain risky behavior, that only applies when it’s a distant and minor concern (Achiezer 1:23). Others write that the rule only applies when the concern is by and large disregarded and ignored.

Proactive Healthy Action
Until now we have discussed avoiding existing dangerous situations. There is much less Halachic literature written about proactively protecting oneself from unsafe circumstances.

The most notable is the Rambam (Deos 4) who describes healthy living as part of Avodas Hashem, and therefore includes eating, sleeping and exercise habits as part of the overall service to Hashem.

The opinion of the Rambam (as understood by Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach) is that contemporary medical advice is to be the basis of what is considered healthy living.

There is also some discussion on the poskim regarding healthy people fleeing a smallpox epidemic, the Rema (YD:116:5) and the Mishna Berura quoting the Shelah (OC 576 MB 14) write that one must flee the town in which people are contracting smallpox.

Vaccination
So it would seem clear that there is an obligation to take steps to prevent and avoid disease, and presumably vaccinations would be required as well.

However vaccination is somewhat different than flight as it’s not inherently risk free. There is a very small possibility that the person receiving the inoculation will get sick as well.

When the smallpox vaccine was first invented, the Tiferes Yisroel (see commentary to Yoma 8:3) was asked whether one should be vaccinated.

The risk of vaccination (in his time 1/1000 fatality rate) was weighed against the risk of getting infected with smallpox, (at that time 30% of the population died due to smallpox) and he ruled that one should be vaccinated.

On the one hand, nowadays the risk factor of infection is statistically miniscule, due to the widespread use of vaccinations. On the other hand in order to perpetuate this we must continue to inoculate until there is worldwide eradication of any given disease, and the risk factor of becoming ill from the vaccine itself is scientifically unproven or negligible as well.

Therefore, many poskim conclude, an individual cannot be compelled to vaccinate their children (putting aside legal or school policy concerns). This is the opinion of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and Rav Neuwirth.

The Nishmas Avraham qualifies this by saying in the name of Rav Shlomo Zalman and Rav Neuwirth that inoculations should be strongly encouraged. Indeed, all the above poskim encouraged parents and doctors to vaccinate children.

In a much firmer stance, Rav Elyashiv, quoted by Rabbi Tatz in “Dangerous Disease & Dangerous Therapy,” says that all parents have an obligation to vaccinate as this is normative practice throughout the world, and is included in the parents’ basic obligation to care for their child. It would seem from the quote that he was very familiar with the scientific pros and cons and felt that until there was objective evidence to the contrary one must vaccinate to avoid danger; not vaccinating would be considered negligence on the part of the parent.

Additionally, Rav Elyashiv is quoted as ruling that parents of vaccinated children can insist that all other children in the class be vaccinated as well, so as to limit their exposure to disease.

There has been an ongoing discussion in Lakewood, NJ as to whether schools can insist that all children be vaccinated. After perusing the various statements, proclamations and psakim that have been issued over the last few years in the Lakewood controversy regarding immunizations, it seems clear that the (seemingly minority) opinions that do not support compulsory vaccinations are basing their psak, in part, on the fact that there is a portion of the medical community that is anti-vaccine, and the jury is still out on the issue. This is simply no longer true, and should be noted.

Additionally it should be noted that none of the Rabbonim involved discouraged vaccinations, they just felt the schools can’t mandate them.

In some states where it is legally mandated to vaccinate your children, there is the option of a religious waiver, where one can state their religion is against vaccinations. In light of all that has been discussed, according to all opinion it would seem incorrect to use a religious exemption, with Judaism being the religion.

The Current Polio Issue

So how about the current polio vaccine being recommended in Israel? This is a little different, and may not be subject to the above discussion.

In a nutshell as I understand it:

It seems that all children, once vaccinated, cannot contract polio. They can however still be carriers, and infect other unvaccinated people. Strains of polio have been found in sewers in Southern Israel, (much of the Muslim world does not vaccinate) and can therefore infect unvaccinated people. The current campaign introduces a weakened live strain of the virus into an already inoculated child, who then will not get sick, but will fight the virus and not be a carrier, and thus help eradicate the virus completely.

Although there doesn’t seem to be any statistical risk to the child getting the live vaccine, they cannot come into close contact with immune-deficient people. They also don’t gain anything, and there are (unsubstantiated by me) rumors of a very minute percentage of these children becoming ill as well.

The question then becomes a hashkafic one: Do I have to compromise, even minutely, my health or even convenience for the greater good? Furthermore, Should I compromise the health of some immuno-deficient people I may come in contact with for the greater good?

Something to think about, and if applicable discuss with your Rav.

May we merit the days when disease and illness will cease to exist!

In writing this article I leaned heavily on information presented by Rabbi Bush in Hakirah vol. 9, and an article by the Institue of Dayanim, pub. 17th Tamuz 5772, as well as information provided by the Ministry of Health.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Fasting On Your Wedding Day

The very last verse in Parshas Toldos tells us that Esav, after realizing that his parents disapproved of his Canaanite wives, went and married “Machlas, the daughter of Yishmael”.

The Midrash, as well as the Yerushalmi (Bikurim 3:3) question this from the verse (36:3) which reports the wife of Esav being Basmas the daughter of Yishmael? Chazal answer that we see from this that although her name was Basmas, she was called Machlas, because on the day that he got married all of Eisav’s sins were forgiven. This is signified in the name Machlas, forgiveness.

Upon reflection, this is incredible! Eisav, an arch-evildoer and murderer, was fully forgiven of all his sins on the day that he got married!

This concept is found in the Gemara as well (Yevamos 63b). The Gemara states: “Rav Chama bar Chanina said, as soon as a man marries a woman his sins are ‘stopped up’.” The word used is מתפקקין, the same word that is used in reference to a cork, or a seal. This is commonly understood to mean that his sins are forgiven and eradicated.

However, the in the Rif’s commentary to the Ein Yaakov he questions the use of this terminology. Wouldn’t it have been easier and more precise to say ‘forgiven’? He explains beautifully – on the day of the chuppah the sins of the groom are stored away and sealed up, but they are not yet forgiven.

In essence, he is being presented with a clear choice. You are now starting a new life, together with your new wife. You, as a couple, have the unique opportunity to start afresh, and to pursue a life of spirituality and mitzvos. However, you also have the option to fall back into your old and comfortable ways, which were possibly sin splattered.

Should you choose to walk a new path, and forge a new life together as a couple of Torah and Mitzvos, then the sins from your premarital state will remain corked and sealed (and will even ultimately be considered meritorious, as is with one who does Teshuvah out of love).

However, should you choose to continue in your old, non-elevated ways, then your sins will be uncorked and will still be considered ‘yours’. Because you haven’t started a new life together, you’ve just continued along the previous path.

The Rif goes on to explain that this is the intent of the next sentence of the Gemara: “In the West (Israel) they would ask a man upon his marriage, מצא או מוצא, was your marriage a fulfillment of the verse “He who finds a wife finds great good” (Mishlei 18:22) or the verse “I find a woman to be more bitter than death” (Koheles 7:26).

They weren’t questioning his state of marital bliss, indeed it was far too early to ascertain if the marriage would be a happy one. Rather they were asking a spiritual question – will you use the opportunity of a fresh start with your new wife to seek good? Or will you trudge along the path that will lead to a certain spiritual death?

It seems that even Eisav was presented with this opportunity, notwithstanding that this was not his first marriage, and he was already well established in his ways of debauchery, even so he was given the opportunity to have a fresh start.

Reb Yisroel of Brunia (a 15th Century scholar) quoted by the Rema (Even Haezer 61:1) records a custom for the bride and groom to fast on the day of their wedding. Since it is a day of forgiveness for them it would be appropriate to fast. [The Torah Temimah adds a nice twist – Eisav married Machlas to please his parents. The good deed together with his marriage effected the opportunity for forgiveness. So too we fast in order to add a righteous act to the marriage and effect forgiveness].

A second reason, given by the Mahari Mintz, for fasting is to ensure that they do not become intoxicated, and have the appropriate serious approach to the chuppah.

One practical difference between the two reasons will depend on the scheduling of the chuppah. If the reason for fasting is for forgiveness it would be like any other fast – dawn to nightfall. Even if the chuppah takes place early in day it would be logical to fast all day. However, according to the second reasoning, that we are merely avoiding frivolity at the chuppah, there is no reason to fast once the chuppah and kidushin are over.

Conversely, if the chuppah is after nightfall, according to the first reasoning, you’ve already fasted the day and there is no longer any reason to fast. However if one is concerned about intoxication they would be required to fast until after the chuppah.

Both reasons are quoted in the meforshim to Shulchan Aruch as well as in the Mishnah Berurah (573:8).

The Aruch Hashulchan understands the second reasoning to be primary, and in all situations rules that one should fast until after the chuppah. However the Chochmas Adam (129:2) writes that since the fast is only a custom, and not cited in the Gemara, one may definitely be lenient when the chuppah is after nightfall and eat before the chuppah, as long as they are careful to avoid any intoxicating beverages.

The custom is to break the fast immediately after the chuppah regardless. The Ezer Mikodesh (quoted in the Torah Ledaas) explains that even if it’s considered a personal Yom Kippur for the bride and groom, after the chuppah is the equivalent of after Neilah, the fast is complete.

One fasts even on Rosh Chodesh or during the month of Nissan and other days that we don’t say tachanun, but not on Chanukah or Purim. (OC 573). The Mishna Berura adds that one does not fast on Isru Chag, the 15th of Av and the 15th of Shvat. The opinion of the Elyah Rabbah is that one never fasts on a day that tachanun is not said.

If one gets married on the day or night following a fast day Rav Moshe Feinstein (OC 1:167) rules that they should fast, and infers by omission that this is the opinion of the Mishna Berura as well. However the Toras Mordechai writes that there is definitely no need to fast on the day following Yom Kippur, and Rav Shlomo Zalman extends this to the day following any fast day.

The Eishel Avraham questions the custom of the Kallah fasting – from the Gemara it seems that only the groom has his sins forgiven? He concludes that she too has her sins forgiven, and therefore should fast as well, however there is more room for leniency with the Kallah than with the Chassan. This is fully understandable according to our initial explanation of the concept - they are both setting out on a new, elevated path together, and therefore it is appropriate for them both to fast.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Birchas Baal Habayis - Blessing The Host

The Gemara (Berachos 55a) states that there are three things that cause a person’s life to be shortened.

1) If he is asked to read from the Torah and refuses,

2) If he refuses to accept a Kos Shel Beracha when offered (lit. a cup of blessing, referring to the cup of wine upon which mitzvos are performed), and

3) If he is מנהיג עצמו ברבנות, which the Maharsha understands to mean that he forces others to accept him as a leader.

I’d like to focus on the second item, if one refuses to ‘accept a Kos Shel Beracha’.

What sort of Kos Shel Beracha are we talking about? We find a hint in the source that the Gemara brings. The Gemara quotes the verse of ואברכה מברכך, where Hashem promises Avraham that ‘those who bless you will be blessed’.(Bereishis 12:3)

In the times of the Talmud only one person would recite the Grace after Meals, and all others would listen attentively and respond Amen. Rashi explains that when one is asked to say Birkas Hamazon he has the opportunity to bless the Baal Habayis, and in turn Hashem blesses him. If he refuses he then is effectively saying he is not interested in receiving the blessing. He loses out on that blessing, or as the Mishna Berura puts it, there is an implied curse.

In a rational follow through, the Aruch Hashulchan and Ben Ish Chai, as well as Rav Elyashiv, write that now that everyone says Birkas Hamazon individually, each individual is obligated to bless the host.

According to this logic, one can argue they would all be susceptible to the shortening of days in the Gemara above. However, there are two caveats:

1)While there is a preference to say Birkas Hamazon over a cup of wine, it is not required. The Magen Avraham says the curse of the Gemara only applies when using a cup of wine, as per the language of the Gemara Kos Shel Beracha. (The Shaar Hatzion isn’t sure of the source of the Magen Avraham is, although it seems that he is basing himself on the language of the Gemara, even though there may not be a logical difference whether he is using a cup of wine or not, the Gemara is limited to that scenario).
The Mishna Berura clarifies that although one should definitely bless his host either way, the curse is only present when using wine.

2)Furthermore, the Mishna Berura (OC 201: Shaar Hatzion 14) states that now that we all say a Harachaman for the Baal Habayis that may mitigate the curse totally (which presents an interesting ‘chumra’ for those who don’t say Harachaman on Shabbos).
The full language of the birkas Baal Habayis, as stated in the Gemara (Brachos 46a) is:

‘R. Johanan in the name of R. Simeon b. Yohai: The host breaks bread and the guest says grace. The host breaks bread so that he should do so generously, and the guest says grace so that he should bless the host. How does he bless him? ‘May it be God’s will that our host should never be ashamed in this world nor disgraced in the next world’.

Rabbi added some further items: ‘May he be very prosperous with all his estates, and may his possessions and ours be prosperous and near a town, and may the Accuser have no influence either over the works of his hands or of ours, and may neither our host nor we be confronted with7 any evil thought or sin or transgression or iniquity from now and for all time’. May he be very prosperous with all his estates, and may his possessions and ours be prosperous and near a town, and may the Accuser have no influence either over the works of his hands or of ours, and may neither our host nor we be confronted with any evil thought or sin or transgression or iniquity from now and for all time’. (Translation from Soncino).

The Rif Rosh and Tur modify the text from יזדקר to יזדקק

Interestingly, the Shulchan Aruch (OC 201:1) modifies the language, although not the content, considerably from the Gemara. The Mishna Berura quoting Lechem Chemudos who wonders why. But he doesn’t recommend changing it back, although perhaps that’s implied.

The Aruch Hashulchan retains the language of the Gemara almost entirely, indicating that that is how it should be recited.

The Rambam adds that one may add in whatever they would like into the beracha if they so desire.

At which point of Birkas Hamazon should we say it?

Many people say it after the HaRachaman’s, and that is where it is usually printed. The Brisker Rav pointed out that the Harachmans originate from the post Talmudic era, whereas the blessing of the host is recorded in the Talmud. One should therefore recite the blessing of the host first, right after Al Yichasreinu, and then continue with the HaRachaman’s.

The Erech Shai (quoted in Chumash Midrash Halacha) has a beautiful observation. We bless the host that he should not be ashamed in this world nor disgraced in the next world. The Gemara (Chullin 7b) states that there are two types of givers - those who want to give and don’t have the resources, and those who have the resources but don’t want to give. Both are embarrassed so they give anyway, the first even though he can’t afford it, and the second even though he doesn’t want to. He explains that the one who gives even though he doesn’t have is embarrassed in this world, and the one who doesn’t want to give but gives anyway will be shamed in the next. The guest therefore blesses his host that he should be saved from both of these – he should desire and be able to share his wealth!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Taking a Haircut On Friday Rosh Chodesh Sivan (May 26 2017)

It is well known that there are two main customs regarding the mourning practices of Sefira. The Shulchan Aruch writes that it is from the second day of Pesach until Lag B’Omer, after which all mourning ceases; this is the “Minhag Sefard”. The Maharil (quoted by the Rema) writes that the mourning practices are in place from Rosh Chodesh Iyar until Sheloshes Yemei Hagbolah, the three preparatory days before Shavous. This is commonly referred to as the “Minhag Ashkenaz”.

It is accepted by all Ashkenazi, and even many Sefardim, that when Lag Baomer is on Sunday, (as it is whenever Rosh Chodesh Sivan is on Friday), one may get a haircut on Friday in honor of Shabbos even though Friday is still a prohibited day according to all opinions.

[A similar idea is found on the Friday of Rosh Chodesh Iyar, when Rosh Chodesh Iyar is Friday and Shabbos. Even according to the Minhag Sefard one may take a haircut on that Friday.]

In the event that Rosh Chodesh Sivan comes out on Friday, such as this year (2014), the three preparatory days begin on Sunday.

Seemingly the same logic would apply here, according to Minhag Ashkenaz it is still a prohibited day, but since I am allowed to get a haircut on Sunday I may get one Friday as well. This is indeed the psak of Rav Sharia Dablitzki (Zeh Hashulchan 1:493) based on the opinion of the Pri Megadim (OC 493:5 AA) who permits taking a haircut on Friday when Rosh Chodesh is on Sunday, for those who stop the mourning on Rosh Chodesh Sivan (which is not in accordance with the Magen Avraham and not the conventional minhag).

1) Regarding Rosh Chodesh Iyar, there it is permitted because Shabbos itself has an added dimension of Simcha, coupled as it is with Rosh Chodesh. (Rosh Chodesh Iyar that is on Friday will always be on Shabbos as well). Therefore one can take a haircut in honor of Shabbos. This doesn’t apply to Rosh Chodesh Sivan which is only Friday.

2) Lag B’Omer is really part of the mourning period, but the mourning is suspended due to the various events that happened that day, and it is considered a quasi Yom Tov. It is therefore not respectful to take a haircut in honor of Lag B’Omer and not in honor of Shabbos which is a holier day. This does not apply to our case, where the reason for shaving on Sunday is not because it’s a holiday that the laws of mourning were suspended for, rather it’s the end of the Aveilus.

3) Part of the rationale to allow shaving on Friday before Lag B’Omer is miktzas hayom kekulo – a portion of the day is like a full day. (see Biur haGra), this only applies before Lag B’Omer. To apply it here would be analogous to allowing one who finishes his ‘shloshim’ on Sunday to shave on Friday, which is definitely not allowed.

Therefore Rav Moshe Feinstein argues with the Pri Megadim and prohibits shaving or taking a haircut this Friday. And although the general principle of the Poskim is to be lenient when it comes to Sefirah prohibitions (see Chok Yaakov 493:7) Rav Moshe writes that he doesn’t understand the Pri Megadim’s reasoning and is therefore stringent.

Additionally the Chachmas Shlomo, commenting on the Pri Megadim, in addition to mentioning a reason similar to first reason of Rav Moshe, writes that
since Lag B’Omer is only one day and possibly you will not be able to take a haircut, and if one doesn’t take a haircut they can’t take one before the following Shabbos, you are therefore allowed to take a haircut before the first Shabbos rather than being unkempt for two Shabbosim. This reasoning, writes the Chochmas Shlomo, does not apply to the Pri Megadim’s (or our) scenario.

The Chasam Sofer, speaking about a scenario where Erev Shavous is Sunday, (presumably he is of the opinion that one may not take a haircut until Erev Shavous) writes that one may not take a haircut on Friday, also unlike the Pri Megadim.

Monday, April 07, 2014

Saying Hatov Vehameitiv at the Seder

Although the usual blessing made before drinking wine is Borei Pri Hagefen, in very specific circumstances one may make the blessing of Hatov Vehameitiv. The specific circumstances is worthy of an article of its own, however in a nutshell, when a second wine is brought out unexpectedly and is better than the first, and is to be shared by more than one participant then the beracha can be made. [Before putting this into practice please consult with a halachic authority, or study the sources].

Can this beracha be made at the Seder? The Tur (OC 473) quotes this question as being posed to the Maharam of Rothenberg (1215-1293), a German Scholar. His response was that whereas the beracha made is not Hagefen, therefore it will not appear as if he is adding on to the required four cups and it is permitted.

It is apparent that the Maharam was referring to additional cups of wine, drunk sometime in the middle of the Seder. Since we make Hagefen on each of the required four cups, as long as we don’t make Hagefen on any additional cups there is no cause for concern. The Rema, in his commentary to the Tur seems to concur with this ruling.

However the Maharil, quoted by the Ba’er Heitiv (OC 175:1) rules that one ‘should not make Hatov Vehameitiv on Seder night so as not to appear as if they are drinking additional [required] cups of wine’.

The Chida (Birkei Yosef) quoted by the Shaarei Teshuva (ibid) writes that many disagree with the Maharil, and rule that it is permitted to make Hatov Vehameitiv at the Seder.

The Chida goes on to write that in an instance where kiddush was recited over wine, and the wine was found to be inferior, one should certainly not refrain from sending for a better wine for the second cup. In this instance the Maharil would agree, since we are not discussing additional, non-required wine, this
is wine that is necessary for the second of the Four Cups.

The Mishnah Berura in Shaar Hatzion (175:3) agrees that there is no problem with upgrading, and necessitating a Hatov Vehameitiv, for one of the Four Cups. However, he then presents the following dilemma:

Ashkenazi custom is to make an additional blessing over each of the four cups, even though the second is close to the first, and the fourth to the third. According to the Shulchan Aruch, a blessing is only made on the first and third cups.

The reason to make a blessing on each cup is because each cup is an independent mitzvah, and a cup of wine used in the process of a mitzvah (e.g. Kiddush or Havdalah) require their own Hagefen.

Now, ordinarily, the circumstances that one makes Hatov Vehameitiv are, by definition, where one has already drunk wine, and does not make a second blessing. So the Mishnah Berura writes that in this specific case one would make Hagefen because of the mitzvah, and then Hatov Vehameitiv, for the upgraded quality of wine.

There is a minority opinion of the Bais Yehuda (53) that one may never make Hatov Vehameitiv on a Mitzvah required cup of wine, as this would be considered a physical benefit of the mitzvah. However, the Kaf Hachayim disagrees, and, based on our discussion until now, so would the Chida and the Mishnah Berura.

In conclusion, there seems to be a halachic preference to not drink additional cups of wine in the course of the meal that would require one to make Hatov Vehameitiv. [Even in this scenario the Mishnah Berura writes that it’s permitted, but should not be done ipso facto]. However, the vast majority of the poskim write that as one of the four cups it would be permitted, bringing about the very rare scenario of making both Hatov Vehameitiv and Hagefen on the same cup of wine.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

The First National Mitzvah

“Hachodesh hazeh lechem rosh chadoshim”, this month shall be for you the first of months.

In a beautiful essay Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch explains – כי הנה הסתיו עבר the winter has passed, the spring is coming and Shlomo Hamelech is describing the beauty of the coming of Spring.

But real men don’t have time for spring. They are busy, trying to make a living, feed their families, and make ends meet. Do you really expect them to notice the singing of the birds and the buds on the trees? Only the young who haven’t dealt with life, or the shipwrecked, those whom life has been unusually harsh with and they’ve given up, speak of poetry and such. But the rest of us – it doesn’t do anything for us, doesn’t make our lives any easier or better, and we cannot appreciate it.

There was a group of the most downtrodden, despised, oppressed and ill-used people on earth. They knew nothing but slave labor and broken marriages, drowned children and broken backs and spirit.

They were taken outside by their Father, led by Hashem Himself, in the beginning of the spring and were shown the new moon, and the beginnings of life on the earth. Hashem told them החדש הזה לכם ראש חדשים - this is not only a new time for the moon and for the earth, renewal and illumination for the celestial body, and germination for the plants and the trees, but lechem – for you as well. Just as there is a new light and a new spring, you too can have your own new and fresh illumination and growth.

This is why Kidush Hachodesh is so important אלמלא לא זכו ישראל אלא להקביל פני אביהם שבשמים פעם אחת בחודש דים the new moon signifies the capabilities of rebirth that are latent In every Jewish soul, and we are reminded of this when we bless the new moon every month.

Just as Noach was shown a rainbow as a sign of the promise that there would never be another flood, so too the Bnei Yisroel were shown the moon as a sign that the can renew, be mechadaish and extract themselves from the shackles of earthiness. We’re promised to appreciate the springtime, to live the
renewal!

Jews are עתידים להתחדש כמותה, to renew ourselves just like the moon! We all have this power to illuminate anew and use it לפאר ליוצרם על שם כבוד מלכותו. – to glorify the Great Name of God. This is why Sanctifying the ne month, the first mitzvah, was given specifically in the spring. We bring together the ideas of renewal of the moon, renewal of the spring, and the renewal of the Jewish People.

Charles Dedereich (or Abbie Hoffman or The Diggers, bkitzur a hippie) – once said “Today is the first day of the rest of your life” – Jews get that every day, we always have the capability to start fresh, to renew.

Tu Bshvat is in the middle of the winter, when the sap starts to rise in the trees. This invisible process can only happen if the core and root of the tree is strong and healthy, and eventually bring to beautiful and healthy fruits. Judaism places primary importance on this process more so than the actual fruits themselves!

This too symbolizes the budding and yearnings of good deep within us. Rav Hirsch explains that the Torah cares less about the fruit, which are our deeds, then the origins and beginnings, “the invisible germination of righteousness and iniquity” within us.

With Tu Bshvat we show that we are focusing on the inner core of the tree, which if healthy, intact and strong, will yield beautiful fruit.

So too in our own lives if we focus on protecting and developing our neshamah and our hearts then we will produce beautiful actions and deeds.

The Mishna tells us that a Lev tov includes all other positive character traits and midos. (Avos 2-11) Once the core is strong it will develop and reflect outward from the Lev. Our focus has to be on having a correctly calibrated heart – like Tu Bshvat, from there everything will come to fruition properly and healthily.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Menorah Fuel

The Shulchan Aruch succinctly tells us (673) that ‘all oils and all wicks are kosher to be used in the menorah and one fulfills their mitzvah with them.’ In fact, one fulfills his obligation by lighting any fuel, even the fats of non-kosher animals. However the commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch all indicate that it is preferable to use kosher substances. Oil of a combination of milk and meat, or of shmittah produce, would be forbidden to be used.

The Rema (ibid) tells us that the ideal fuel is olive oil, reminiscent of the oil used in the menorah in the Bais Hamikdash. He then adds that his custom is to use wax candles as their light is especially clear.

From the Rema it seems, and this is abundantly clear in his commentary on the Tur, that the advantage of a clear flame supersedes the advantage of being comparable to the oil in the Bais Hamikdash, and therefore when presented with the choice of wax candles versus olive oil one should choose the wax candles.

However, the opinion of the Kol Bo, which was adopted by most of the later poskim (among them the Levush, Chayei Adam and Mishna Berura), is that olive oil would be the most preferred option. Only if olive oil were not available would one defer to the standard of the clearest flame.

There is a third opinion, which is that of the Maharal, who indicates that any oil is preferable to a solid candle, as the miracle was performed with oil, a liquid, rather than a solid. This would be a somewhat logical inference; our olive oil would not be eligible for use in the Bais Hamikdash, and its use is only supposed to be reminiscent of the Bais Hamikdash. As such, the more reminiscent one’s menorah fuel is the better it would seem to be. However the Shaar Hatzion, quoting the Machtzis Hashekel, writes that our custom is not in accordance with the Maharal.
[For a deeper analysis of this dispute, beyond the scope of this article, see Dibros Moshe Shabbos 26:23].

If one does choose to use candles, either because he follows the Rema’s opinion, or for convenience or economic reasons, it is important to be aware that many of the commercially available candles do not last for the required 30 minutes, and it is important to purchase those that do.

If one uses olive oil, they will achieve the hidur of using oliveoil no matter what grade or type of oil they use, as long as it is 100% olive oil.

In recent years there has been a surge in available ‘pre-filled’ oil cups, where the user has only to remove a cap and immediately has a ready to use (and super mehadrin) glass full of olive oil with a wick correctly placed. This saves a lot of time and mess, and has become a very popular option. [Whether or not it is appropriate to out-source your mitzvah preparations is not our subject today, perhaps in a future article].

One twist on this innovation is to, via a chemical additive, ‘gel’ the olive oil, which makes the transportation and care substantially easier, and obviates the need for a cap or any sort of anti-spill design.

Would this gelled olive oil be included in the most preferred method of lighting according to the Kol Bo et al, who prefer olive oil in order to be comparable to the oil lit in the Bais Hamikdash?

According to the Maharal cited above it would seem certain that this is not a preferred method, as he is of the opinion that a liquid fuel will always be preferred over a solid one.

The opinion of Rav Nissim Karelitz is that we are striving for comparability to the candles lit in the Bais Hamikdash. Once it is not fully comparable the advantage of olive oil is lost. This opinion, for slightly different reasoning, is shared by Rav Moshe Shternbuch (Teshuvos VeHanhagos 3:218) and Rav Asher Weiss.

The Shevet Halevi discusses whether it would be permissible to use congealed oil in the Bais Hamikdash, and although he concludes that it would not, he states that a full analogy is not needed and gelled olive oil would have the advantage of olive oil discussed by the Kol Bo. As we pointed out, even clear, liquid olive oil would not be acceptable for use in the Bais Hamikdash, which indicates that a full equivalency is not required. This is also the opinion of Rav Elyashiv, Rav Shlomo Miller and Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky.

There is a remarkable comment written by the Teshuvah Meahavah (285) in which he states that the oil used in the Chanukah story was a congealed jug of olive oil! According to this all the opinions above, including the Maharal, would seemingly agree that the gelled oil is included in the most preferred way of lighting.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Using Grape Juice for Kiddush

On January 18th 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, prohibiting the “"the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within… the United States… for beverage purposes”. The Volstead Act, which was designed to carry out the Prohibition (also known as “The Prohibition Act”), defined intoxicating beverage, and allowed an exemption for sacramental use.

Prohibition in general led to one of the first public altercations between the Orthodox and heterodox movements, who argued over who would have the Rabbinic authority to pronounce an occasion worthy of sacramental use.

For religious Jews the sacramental exemption was very important, and widely exercised. Jews use wine at a variety of occasions, and often in the privacy of their homes, which made it very difficult to regulate their sacramental use. This raised eyebrows in the Prohibition enforcement agencies, and indeed the privilege was apparently abused over the course of Prohibition.

The Conservative movement was embarrassed by the widespread use of the sacramental exemption, and Louis Ginzberg, a theologian associated with the Jewish Theological Seminary, wrote a responsum in which he argued that it was perfectly and halachically acceptable to use unfermented wine with no alcoholic content for sacramental purposes, thus allowing grape juice to be used for all religious rituals, and effectively not requiring any exemptions to the Prohibition Act.

It’s worth noting that historians view Prohibition as an attempt to keep America ‘American’ and not sully the lily white, puritan WASP reputation they were trying to uphold. It would be logical to assume that complying with the ethos of the Act was more important to the heterodox movements than to their Orthodox counterparts.

Also of interesting historical note, based on Ginzberg’s ruling the Reform Movement lobbied Washington to repeal the entire sacramental exemption. They quickly backed down when they realized that their Catholic neighbors let it be known that repeal of the exemption would not be appreciated within the Catholic Church.

There was no immediate public response to Ginzberg from the Orthodox Rabbi’s, although they most certainly did not stop using wine for sacramental purposes. However several years later, Rabbi Hurewitz of Hartford, Conn., a student of the Chofetz Chaim and an erudite scholar, wrote a very strongly worded response, and disagreed with the halachic advisability of using grape juice in lieu of wine.

The Gemara (Bava Basra 97b) states that one may (ipso facto) squeeze a cluster of grapes into their cup and say Kiddush, seemingly indicating that grape juice is permissible to use for kiddush, and all other sacramental purposes.

This is how the halacha is decided in Shulchan Aruch (272:2). However the Magen Avraham (3) adds that it is preferred to use aged wine, at least forty days old.

Rabbi Hurewitz’s position, and this position was initially held by Rav Henkin as well, was that our grape juice was different than the grape juice discussed in the Gemara. After squeezing grapes, the juice can either be turned to wine, or it will spoil. Contemporarily, in order to have grape juice, we pasteurize it, which gives it a long shelf life as unfermented juice.

The reason that grape juice was permissible in the Gemara was because it was, in essence, unfermented wine. However our grape juice, in order to preserve the grape juice it is necessary to pasteurize it, effectively neutering its potentiality of becoming wine. Thus, argued Rabbi Hurewitz, it was not the same as the grape juice of the Gemara.

Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, (Har Tzvi, OC 1:158) in a letter to Rabbi Hurewitz disputes this. He writes that just as cooked wine is permissible for Kiddush, because we recognize it as retaining the character of wine despite it being cooked (and despite it not being usable in the Bais Hamikdash and therefore not being an ideal choice) so too grape juice will retain its character despite being cooked and will still be permitted. This is also the position of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Minchas Shlomo 1:4).

Rav Henkin in a later responsum on the subject retracts his reservations regarding using grape juice for a different reason. He consulted with Mr. Herzog, of Herzog Winery fame, who demonstrated to him how one can easily fermented even pasteurized grape juice by adding a little sugar and yeast and leaving it exposed, thus refuting the pasteurization argument from a scientific perspective as well.

The common practice, and the position of the vast majority of contemporary poskim including Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Elyashiv, Rav Ovadia Yosef, Rav Soloveitchik, and the aforementioned poskim, is that grape juice may be used for Kiddush and all other sacramental purposes. Many do note the position of the Magen Avraham, that it is preferred to use wine when possible.

Using grape juice for the four cups drunk at the Seder is a relatively new issue, as in pre pasteurization days the grape juice from the harvest season would have spoiled by the time Pesach came around. Although from a wine perspective it would be permitted, in the Kol Dodi Rav David Feinstein Shlit”a takes the position, based on early commentators, that wine is preferred as one of the purposes of the Four Cups is to demonstrate freedom, which is not possible with non-alcoholic grape juice.

There is also some discussion in the Poskim about using grape juice from concentrate, the position of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach is that it would not be Hagefen!

A story is told about Rabbi Dr. Abraham J Twersky, the famed Rabbi, author and psychiatrist, who is a world renowned substance abuse expert. The story is told that one of his patients, a Catholic priest, expressed his consternation that he would no longer be able to take communion, which involves drinking wine. Rabbi Twersky asked him why he didn’t use grape juice, explaining that Rav Moshe Feinstein had ruled that Jewish law allowed grape juice to be substituted for wine. The priest asked his bishop who in turn asked the cardinal. The cardinal asked Rabbi Twersky to put the halachic rationale in writing, which he then forwarded to the Vatican. The psak came back – they agreed with the reasoning and would permit using grape juice as sacrament, based on Rav Moshe’s psak!

Friday, October 18, 2013

The Sun Unsheathed

“He (Avraham) was sitting outside his tent as the day was hot” (Gen. 18:1) The Gemara (Bava Metzia 86b) explains that Hashem removed the sun from its sheath and the sun healed him.

The Talmud (Avoda Zara 3) relates that when Moshiach comes the nations of the world will complain to God saying: “if you would have given us the opportunity to do mitzvos then we too would have done them faithfully as the Jews did. Hashem replies “I will give you one mitzvah, we shall see if you can do it”. He gives them the commandment of Sukkah. As soon as they made their Sukkos and got comfortable, G-d removed the sun from its sheath and made it unbearably hot, causing the people to kick the walls of the Sukkah and leave.

The Gemara questions this incident: There is no obligation to sit in the Sukkah if it is causing one pain? Answers the Gemara, yes that is correct! There is however no excuse for kicking the walls. For that they lost their chance.

This incident begs explanation. Hashem seems to be toying with the nations of the world, giving them a mitzvah, and then not giving them the circumstances to correctly perform the mitzvah. Furthermore, we find that Hashem removed sun from sheath and made excessive heat. Why the similarity in language?

What’s the common thread?

I heard a beautiful thought from Rabbi Asher Brander - Avraham was technically exempt from welcoming his guests. He was old, recovering from surgery and in pain. It was very hot. But he was pained by this. He sat outside waiting for guests. He wanted to do the mitzvah. Therefore Hashem sent him guests and he was able to serve them and honor them.

A direct result of this was the creation of the Jewish people. That show of selflessness, of wanting to go above and beyond, was the impetus for Hashem to say “This man’s people will be My Chosen People.”

When the nations of the world come to Hashem when Moshiach comes and ask why he didn’t give them the opportunity to do mitzvos, they are in effect asking “why are the Jews the chosen people and not us?” Hashem offers them an opportunity to do a mitzvah, however he tests them with ‘removing the sun from its sheath’. Meaning to say, they had to show that they wanted to do the mitzvah, that even if they were exempt they would try to do it, and would be pained if they were unable to perform the mitzvah . They had to show that they were willing to go above and beyond the letter of the law to do the will of Hashem. When they left the Sukkah in disgust, kicking the walls behind them, they showed they were just trying to get points and did not altruistically want to do the will of God. They were not eligible to be the Chosen People.

With this we can explain a third incident. The Gemara in Nedarim 8b states in the name of Reish Lakish: “In the future (in messianic times) there will be no Gehennom. Rather Hashem will remove the sun from its sheath; Tzadikim will be cured by it and Reshaim will be judged by it.”

So again we have Hashem removing the sun from its sheath. What is the nature of the judgment?

Perhaps what Hashem is going to do is take each and every individual and examine them. Are you self-sacrificing in your service of God? Does it pain you when you are unable to perform His will, even when you are exempt? That is the Judgment of the future.

However this requires further study. What is the significance of removing the sun from its sheath? And how is the sun both the tool used to judge evil ones also used to heal righteous ones?
The Gemara above is based on several verses in Malachi (3:19-20), the closing of the book of prophets, where the prophet describes the end of days. The verse states: “The day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the wicked people and the evildoers will be like straw and Hashem will burn them up and totally consume them. But a sun of righteousness and healing will shine for those who fear my name, with healing in its rays…”

We see from the prophet the dual nature of the sun; burning the evil-doers and healing the righteous.

Hashem created light on the very first day of creation; however only on day four did He create the sun and the moon. The original light was all permeating and was too strong, and was wrapped in a sheath so as to contain it. (See Malbim in HaCarmel).

The Gemara tells us that when Hashem first created the constellations, the sun and the moon were equal in both size and intensity, the moon complained to Hashem saying that two kings cannot share one crown! Hashem responded, go minimize yourself. However when Moshiach comes the moon will be restored to its original splendor, matching the sun, and the sun will be 7x7x7 (343) times its intensity, as described in Isaiah (30:26). The verse goes on to say that on that day that Hashem intensifies the sun the wounds of his people will be healed.

This strong and full light that is the light of the first three days of creation, is the very same light that was revealed to heal Avraham [see tosfos beracha gen. 18:1], and this is the light that will be used to judge evildoers, discomfort the would-be Sukkah dwellers and heal tzadikim upon the ultimate redemption. This is referred to as the Ohr Haganuz, the light that is hidden away and reserved for the righteous at the end of days.

Hashem created the world with the attribute of ‘din’ or justice. When He ‘realized’ that the world would have no continuity if it was run under the attribute of justice he tempered it with the attribute of kindness so as to have permanence. Hashem is light (Hashem Ori)The original light, the light of the unsheathed sun, is the light of truth and justice, where veneers don’t matter and the raw truth is exposed. Those who are not true to God, whose actions are not done in a wholehearted manner, are exposed. This wouldn’t work for the continuity of the world, and God had to add the attribute of kindness.

However when Moshiach comes, we will go back to an all justice state. This sounds harsh but in truth the opposite is true. It’s truth! Everyone will be honest and true to Hashem, His presence will be so clear that there will be no double standard, no disconnect between our actions and thoughts.

In fact, this is an ideal that was always considered necessary and ideal. The Gemara in Yoma (72b) states that any Torah Scholar who’s interior does not match his external actions is not worthy of being considered a Torah Scholar. In fact, Rabban Gamliel originally insisted that only those scholars’ whose insides were the same as the outsides, i.e. were sincere, would be allowed into the Beis Midrash. Because in a true Torah environment that is a necessary prerequisite.

There are several things that are called an ‘os’, a sign. Milah (circumcision), Tefillin and Shabbos.

Milah – circumcision is the connection between a Jew and Hashem. When a Jew is circumcised, in the words of the Zohar, Hashem is visible from within him. It is the ‘seal’ of the King, a manifestation of His presence within every Jew. The sefarim say that the removal of the foreskin is the removal of the veneer of the heart, allowing the neshama to shine through and elevating the person to the potential of a tzaddik. (c.f. Ramban Gen. 17:4)

Tefillin – the Gemara tells us that the verse “when the nations of the land see that the name of Hashem is upon you and they will fear you” refers to tefillin. For tefillin are a manifestation of Hashem’s presence, they are called the name of Hashem.

Shabbos – Our celebration of Shabbos is celebrating the creation of the world, a ‘sign’ between Jews and God that Hashem crated the world and is actively manifest in all its aspects.
We find one more thing that’s called an ‘os’. The constellations are called osos, signs. The Gemara explains that they will show us the months etc. however perhaps simply understood, they are manifestations of Hashem’s presence, in the truest sense, the attribute of truth and justice.

Now everything comes together beautifully. Avraham, after his Bris Milah, exhibited the presence of Hashem from within Him. This pure manifestation of Hashem was deserving of the unsheathed sun, the pure and great light that would illuminate all in the truest sense, for Avraham it was healing, for he was, after the Milah, through and through dedicated to Hashem, as exhibited by his willingness to go above and beyond the call of the duty.

This light is manifest on Shabbos. The Zohar tells us that every Shabbos there is an aspect of the light from the beginning of creation, only at the end of Shabbos do we have to go back to the light of fire and heat, which is exhibited by the havdalah candle. This is why only Jews can keep Shabbos; only one who is clear and true to Hashem, without any distinction between his inner devotion and his outside deeds can partake in the light of Shabbos. (See also Yalkut Shimoni Tehillim 139,888)

This is why Adam only was scared by the darkness on the first Motzai Shabbos, whereupon he discovered fire(Ibid Bereishis 2:17)
This light will indeed be a healing light for all the tzadikim at the end of days, it will allow them to live in a true and clear brightly illuminated world. They will be out of the darkness, the presence of Hashem will be clear.

However when the evildoers are presented with this light, it exposes their inconsistencies, their lack of truth and honesty and the fact that their external, seen actions are not representative of their true feelings and thoughts.

When they are put in the Sukkah, and the big lights are turned on, the question is – are you willing to go above and beyond as you say you are? Are you committed to Hashem in the manner required, where His presence is manifest from within you? Are you like Avraham after his circumcision? Like a Jew on Shabbos? They claim yes, but by kicking the walls the answer is evident. They aren’t really willing to put themselves on the line and inconvenience themselves.

This will be the ultimate Day of Judgment for reshaim, as well as the ultimate day of healing for tzadikim. Each will be exposed for what they really are.

The take home lesson from this is that we must strive to make sure our actions mirror our thoughts and desires, and our thoughts and desires are in sync with what the Torah requires our wants to be, to be selfless and dedicated to Hashem, fully subservient to His will, and then we will be the children of Avraham, the Chosen People, in the fullest sense of the term.

Sunday, August 04, 2013

Maaser Sheini - Maintaining the Connection

We are familiar with the concept of Maaser Sheini. You take your tithe, bring it, or its monetary value to Jerusalem, and let it here, in the presence of the Bais Hamikdash.

We do the same with Maaser Beheimah – we tithe our animals, bring them up to Jerusalem, and eat them there.

Why? What do we gain by taking our meals in the presence of the Bais Hamikdash?

The Chinuch (360) offers some insight. He explains that Hashem wants all of His nation to be close to Him, Torah scholars and devout. However, He realizes that due to human nature, for the majority of the population this is an impossibility. They must support their families, earn a living, and that can take them to places that are not centers of Torah and bastions of piety.

However, in Jerusalem, the seat of the Sanhedrin and the place of the Kohanim, there is nothing to do but study His ways and learn His Torah. Therefore Hashem commanded that we travel periodically to Jerusalem, spend some time there and engage in study and prayer, whilst being supported by the food we brought along.

This way, explains the Chinuch, not just every region or city, but every household will have at least one member who is well versed in Torah, who can impart of his newly found wisdom to his family and elevate the spiritual level of the entire home.

The Meshech Chochmah (Shemos 23:16), gives us a beautiful understanding of the mitzvah of being Oleh Regel, the thrice yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He explains that Hashem is connected to Klal Yisrael, of which each Jew is a vital part, a limb. However, it is impossible for each Jew to fully cleave to Hashem on an ongoing basis, since they are busy and distracted with the travails of day to day life. However, just as a limb is not considered halachically disconnected from an animal (for the purposes of tumah) until it is unable to be reattached, so too every Jew, so long as they have the potential to connect are considered connected. The way to maintain that connection, to preserve the ability to connect, is by actually connecting periodically. This, explains the Meshech Chochmah, is one of the goals of the pilgrimage.

This idea is really clear in the Sifri, explained by Tosfos (Bava Basra 21a). The verse puzzlingly states that one should bring Maaser to Jerusalem למען תלמד ליראה so as to learn to fear Hashem. The Sifri expounds: Maaser was only given to us so as to engender Torah Study and Fear of Heaven. The Netziv
(Haamek Daver Devarim 14:23) explains that it is impossible to eat all the Maaser during the Chag itself, and therefore he will stay on in Jerusalem, and during that time will study and grow spiritually. (He adds that at the very least he will leave the food behind to support Torah Scholars, which will also help Torah grow).

So we now understand the goal of Maaser Sheini – to get us to Jerusalem, to put aside our earthly pursuits for a little while and focus on our spiritual development.

And now that we have no Bais Hamikdash and we don’t have the opportunity to bring Maaser, what is our vehicle for connection? The answer lies on a second interpretation of Chazal (Yevamos 93a): “Learning to Fear God” which the Torah states as the goal of Maaser, refers to Shabbos and Yom Tov.

The Meshech Chochmah (Devarim 14:23) explains: When observing the Kohanim and scholars in Jerusalem, it’s difficult to find commonality with them. As working folk, we don’t have the luxury that they do to focus on learning and spiritual growth on a full time basis. To that the verse tells us – Shabbos and Yom Tov is your time! You’re not working, you have the opportunity to focus on your growth, that’s when you should apply the lessons learnt from the Kohanim.

May we use our time wisely, and have the opportunity to internalize the lessons of Maaser Sheini.

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Meet Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Haber

Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Haber is sought after by all who know him for his Halachic and practical advice. His keen ability to put complicated matters into a digestible perspective coupled with his ability to get the facts, make him the perfect blogger to help us all “Do It Right”.

A native of Buffalo, NY, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Haber spent his childhood globetrotting with his family. His pioneering spirit first surfaced in Melbourne, Australia, where he was excited to be a member of the opening class of Mesivta Bnei Torah. From Australia the Haber family settled down in Monsey, NY. Ever the maverick, Tzvi promptly left home to study in Yeshiva Ohr Hameir in Peekskill, where he became a mainstay of the Yeshiva, and inspired his younger brothers as well as several friends from the Mesivta in Melbourne to follow him. He then joined his chaburah in Jerusalem, first at the Mir Yeshiva and then at the Bais Medrash of Rav Dovid Soloveitchik, a senior scion of the famed Brisk dynasty. As his globetrotting family returned to Jerusalem, Tzvi returned to the US, to freeze in the famed, yet comparatively chilled Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood.

In 2004 he met his wife, Suzanne Schor, a native of the warmer Los Angeles climate, and the couple settled in Lakewood, where he focused his pioneering and independent strengths on the study of Halacha, or Jewish law. His innovative spirit and innate ability to help others seeking to clarify the finer points of Judaism and integrate them into their daily lives inspired his decision to commute daily from Lakewood to the Lower East Side of Manhattan in order to bask in the day to day exposure to the world renowned Posek, HaRav David Feinstein. The daily commute was more than compensated for when he received Semicha from Rav Feinstien and the Kollel L’Torah U’lhorah (a division of Mesivta Tifereth Jerusalem) in Tamuz 5768, June 2008.

In August 2009, the Habers moved west, heading toward Los Angeles where Rabbi Haber joined the LINK-LA Kollel. After being an active member of the Kollel for several years, he joined the business world, however he is still actively involved in teaching and learning in LA.

Actively involved in all aspects of TorahLab, Tzvi has taken upon himself a quasi-role as administrator of quality control and has effectively improved and upgraded many of the smaller yet vital details involved in our site. His advice is eagerly sought and gracefully given.

Rabbi Haber is now living in the La Brea section of Los Angeles with his wonderful family. He can be contacted at tzvi@torahlab.org

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